The Next Generation
by Pink Mockingjay in Hufflepuff
Summary: After being raised on the Isle of the Lost, the Rotten Four knows exactly how not to raise their children. Now they just have to figure out how they should. Thankfully, the kids' other parent grew up in Auradon.
1. A New Prince or Princess

**_Hi there! I promised you guys this in Never Be Alone and said it'd be up after the holidays, but I forgot I already had the first chapter written, so, here it is! A fic where I get to love on the fictional babies I have for these fictional people._**

 ** _There will probably be between a couple chapters a child depending on how much background there is and how much filler I need until the next kid because it will chronologically overall, not by couple. One chapter per child will most likely be dedicated to how their existence was discovered._**

 ** _I'm staying canon for this (or eventual canon), so the couples are: Ben and Mal, Evie and Doug, Jay and Audrey, and Jane and Carlos._**  
 ** _I might create some other couples/kid for background purposes, but this story is focused on the kids of the Rotten Four._**

 ** _This story won't be updated_** _ **as often as Never Be Alone will, but it will be updated! I promise!**_

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

 _No. Absoultely not. This is not happening._

It wasn't true. It couldn't be.

 _Stop shaking._

But she couldn't stop shaking.

She steadied herself by grabbing onto the sink and taking a deep breath.

She couldn't have a baby. She couldn't be a mother. Not with how she was raised.

They had never talked about kids. Ben loved kids and they loved him. She had only ever gotten along with one. Being parents seemed like such a distant possibly they had never talked about it.

This wasn't supposed to happen. They weren't even married yet.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. She was paler than usual and she had never seen herself look so afraid.

Maybe she was weak.

 _Damn it._

She turned around and kicked the trash can hard enough that it smacked into the bathtub with an empty plastic-y clang. It fell on its side.

 _Damn it all._

There was a gentle knock on the door. "Mal, honey? Is everything okay?"

 _Crap._

Mal lied through her teeth as she fixed the trash can as quietly as she could manage with a scattered brain and shaky hands."Yeah, everything's fine."

Apparently Belle knew her better than she anticipated. "Mal, what's wrong?"

Belle hadn't been being creepy or anything. Both Ben and Adam were out of town and she had only been wondering if Mal wanted to do anything and had come up to ask. It was nearly lunch time and she hadn't seen her soon-to-be daughter-in-law (or her cats) all morning, which was strange. Both kittens were sprawled across the bed when Belle came up, which meant Mal hadn't gone anywhere without Belle noticing (they followed her like puppies and caused a fuss when she left) and the bathroom door across the hall was shut. She had come past just in time to hear the clatter that was Mal kicking the garbage can into the tub.

Mal knew she wouldn't be able to escape Belle. She could either come up with one of a multitude of excuses to stay in the bathroom or make a run for it (or climb out he window), but she knew Belle would find her eventually and pry it out of her.

Mal opened the door slowly, crossing her arms to try and hide the fact that her hands were trembling.

Belle's expression was soft and concerned as she gave her a once-over.

That's all it took for Mal to tear up.

"Oh, come here." Belle pulled the girl into a hug. It took a lot for Mal to cry, so this was definitely serious. "What's wrong, hm?" She hadn't realized, but she had slipped into her 'mom' voice, the one she used when someone was sick or scared or having a bad day.

Mal tried to compose herself to speak, but she couldn't manage it.

Finally, she managed to say it. "I'm pregnant."

It came out shaky and scared, so unlike the spunky and confident girl Mal usually was.

"Oh Mal, it's okay." Belle said soothingly.

"It's not okay!" Mal snapped, pulling away from the closest thing she had to a mother. "It's not okay! This isn't how it's supposed to work! We've never talked about kids! We aren't married yet! I've been with Ben long enough to know that people talk. They're going to say terrible things about this, just like they always do! And Ben's going to look bad and-and..." Mal stopped her rant to wipe her face with the back of her still-trembling hand and catch her breath. She felt ready to pass out.

Belle reached for her hand to steady her. "Mal, sweetheart, it will be okay. I promise you."

"No it won't." Mal slid to the floor and hugged her knees close like a defeated, frightened child. Maturity tends to slip out the window when one is afraid.

Belle sat beside her. "Sometimes things don't happen the way we plan them... sometimes things happen we didn't plan at all. Take, for example, Prince Charming falling in love with Cinderella when all she had wanted originally was to go to that ball. Or Adam and I... Or, you and Ben falling in love. The unexpected keeps life interesting... it keeps you on your toes. You and Ben may not have ever spoken about having children, but you're going to have one now. I know it's been a while since I was in your position, but I do know that while you may not have been planning on that baby, it exists based purely on the fact that you two love each other. So what if you aren't married yet? You have been crazy about each other since you were sixteen and you're engaged. I say that if people haven't realized your an item by now then they're clearly delusional."

Mal managed a weak chuckle.

"Of course they're going to talk. Like you said, they always find something to say and it can get nasty and hurtful. The most important thing is to not let it get to you too much, which you've been doing a wonderful job of already. You have nothing to be ashamed of and nothing to worry about because no matter what they say, you will know the truth. And Ben will know the truth and so will Adam and I and Evie and Jay and Carlos and everyone else that really matters. Ben will not look bad for this and neither will you, Mal, not to anyone that has a brain at least. You two adore each other and I know you're going to make wonderful parents."

"Ben will," Mal said quietly.

"And you."

"I doubt it. My mother... she, she only cared about using me. Not about me. I might as well have been one of her minions. She didn't love me and I didn't love her. I might have thought I did at some point, but I didn't. She's not a good role model to have."

"You aren't your mother. You're good. You're honest and funny and you care about your friends. You're good, Mal. And you will be a wonderful mother. I know it."

Mal rested her head on Belle's shoulder.

"It's not easy, but you'll have so many people to turn to when you need help who love you and Ben and that baby that you'll have nothing to worry about."

"...how do I tell him?" Belle knew Ben better than anyone, certainly she had some ideas.

Belle wrapped her arm around Mal and gently squeezed. "That's up to you, dear."

The soon-to-be mother sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that." She couldn't wait three days, could she? Should she tell him when he called that night? She had no idea.

Belle laughed.

"How did you tell Adam about Ben?" The Isle kids had been on a first name basis with Ben's parents since they apologized to them after Ben's coronation.

"Like a fool."

It was Mal's turn to laugh. Belle was generally calm, articulate, and quick-witted, all things Ben had inherited. There was no way Belle had ever done anything to embarrass herself.

"My darling little boy waited two and a half years to show up and I was so excited everything came out in a rush. Over dinner. With company over... Chad's parents actually. And Adam spilled his entire glass of water all over himself. Mrs. Potts, or poor Mrs. Potts, she was so startled, she tripped and nearly fell. I had to repeat myself three times for everyone to understand. I still get teased about it, by the way."

Mal tried not to laugh, but it wasn't working.

"Go on, laugh." Belle said, chuckling herself. "It is rather funny. Mrs. Potts likes to tell me it's why Benjamin was-and is- such an excitable boy."

That reminded Mal of a question she had. "What was Ben like when he was little? Like five?"

She had heard plenty of stories about Ben when he was an infant and toddler (all to moans of 'Mooooom, stop embarrasing me!') but none about him when he was a kid.

Belle smiled wistfully at the thought of her grown-up son as the little boy he once was. "Precious. Always so happy and laughing and running around. He loved exploring and asking questions. He was such a curious child, always asking why and how or reading. He also loved hugs."

"Still does," Mal interjected.

Belle hugged the girl again. "He was a wonderful child... we always meant to have another one or two after him, but we got sidetracked. Ben was quiet and wellbehaved, but he was a handful in his own right. And being the first king and queen of a country tends to make you busier than you would like... Too much information?"

"A little bit,"

"Sorry," Belle replied with a little smile.

"'s okay," Mal replied. She hadn't moved. She was comfortable and felt so loved. Her hands had stopped shaking and the tears were gone. She wasn't confident yet, but she felt better, which was the first step.

"Goodness, I've missed having a little one around." Belle commented after a few beats of silence. "They're fun... Ben will be over the moon when you tell him."

"You think?"

Belle nodded. "I know,"

And she said it with such sincerity that Mal couldn't help but believe it.

* * *

 _ **A/N: So, there's the first chapter! I hope you liked it! If you've read my story called Auradon's New Heir, this would be that baby! Next chapter will include freaking out about a baby and a wedding!**_

 _ **Let me know what you think!**_


	2. Telling Friends

**_Hey everyone, I'm back with a new chapter! There will be an Evie and Doug chapter after we get past this little guy. I'm going chronologically through all the kids I have imagined, from oldest to youngest. :)_**

 ** _This chapter is a little different from the last one, but I hope you like it anyway!_**

* * *

Mal had managed to wait until Ben was home to tell him the news and she was glad she was able to see his reaction. Shock to disbelief to a level of happiness Mal had only seen when she agreed to marry him.

He was overjoyed about becoming a father. He was thrilled about having a son or daughter and couldn't wait until it was born.

Mal was still not totally comfortable with the idea, but Ben's enthusiasm was rubbing off on her. She found herself looking up baby names and reading articles about the strangest things. She hadn't been terribly ill, thankfully and no wild cravings, but she had developed a affinity for cuddling and the very aroma of coffee made her nauseous.

Adam was very excited about a grandchild. He had gone out of his way to promise his anxious soon-to-be daughter-in-law that everything was going to work out and that she and the baby were very loved.

Outside of that, they hadn't yet told anyone the news, save the doctor that had promised them everything looked well and that the baby was healthy.

Because the baby was still their own little secret, they had the opportunity to talk about their wedding at length without feeling pressured. There were three options: push the wedding forward, push the wedding back, or keep it as it was. Ben had told Mal to make any choice she wanted because he'd be fine with dropping everything to marry her that moment or waiting another ten years.

Mal had ultimately decided to push the wedding forward. It would make her more comfortable for the baby to be born after the wedding. Belle had been told this and had immediately gone to work on reorganizing some things.

After the wedding decision was made, they decided they should announce their news to everyone, starting with their friends. They invited them over one Saturday, which wasn't at all out of the ordinary. Their group of friends tended to invite each other over all the time.

Jane, Carlos, Audrey, Jay, Evie, Doug, Lonnie, and Chad were all there. All eight of them were going to be in the wedding. They knew that much of course, they had been asked not long after the engagement had happened. Evie was going to be Maid of Honor and she was thrilled.

Conversation dulled down and the expectant parents shared a look before Mal spoke.

"One of the reasons we had you come over was that we wanted to tell you guys something."

Everyone looked to her. Jane stopped trailing her hair ribbon over the floor, giving both of Mal's cats the opportunity to pounce, Shadow (the white cat) jumped on her hand with her claws and she yelped in surprise.

"I'm fine." Jane promised, rubbing the scratch with her other thumb. "Please go on."

"We decided to push the wedding up a few months." Ben continued, reaching for Mal's hand. "Around six to be specific."

"A whole half a year?" Chad questioned. "Why?"

"I'm pregnant." Mal replied.

There was a lot of cheering and congratulating and hugs.

After gushing about baby clothes and toys, Evie spoke up.

"A wedding shower and a baby shower so close together. This is going to be crazy."

"We don't need-"

Mal was cut off by Audrey. "Oh, please. You're getting them both if we all loose our minds in the process. Right girls?"

"Right!" Lonnie said confidently.

"Absolutely!" Evie agreed.

Jane nodded enthusiastically. "I love parties. And babies."

"...do... we have to help?" Jay asked, motioning at himself, Doug, Carlos, and Chad.

"No! You're absolutely not helping." Evie replied.

"Showers are women's territory." Audrey told him. "The only man who'll be allowed in either is Ben."

Doug, Jay, and Carlos looked relieved.

"Ha ha." Chad teased his friend.

Ben flicked a chip at him.

"Real mature, Your Highness." Mal deadpanned. Ben chuckled.

Most of the rest of the evening was spent discussing wedding plans and baby things.

The excitement was thick in the air and the support and love from their friends was so strong, they could feel it pulsing around them.

The baby would be brought into a world full of people who loved it. And even though its mother was still weary, that kind of love would make it all okay.

* * *

 _ **A/N: The next chapter will be more focused on one event/point in time! Lots of happy tears, I promise.**_

 ** _What'd you think? Let me know!_**

 ** _See you soon!_**


	3. Nerves and Nudges

_**I love this story too much. Never Be Alone will be updated, I swear to you. But it'll have to wait until I get back to school. There's not much two write about until then. Sorry! But here's a wedding. Enjoy!**_

* * *

Everything felt surreal.

The wedding had come quicker than anyone imagined it would, time had seemed to fly by.

The kingdom was overjoyed that the wedding was pushed ahead. Most everyone adored Mal by that point and were enthusiastic about her becoming their queen. The general public was also excited about the baby, only a small minority seemed to have a problem with the pregnancy.

Unfortunately, the minority had been very vocal, especially after the announcement. As Belle had said, it had gotten nasty, painting Mal to be manipulative and cruel and saying that she didn't truly love Ben and that she was using him to become queen and plotting some evil scheme (the baby had forced their marriage, supposedly). They ignored it for the most part, but every chance Ben got to kiss her and hold her hand in public, he took.

The wedding shower had been lots of fun. It was small (which is what Mal wanted), but it went off without a hitch and everyone enjoyed themselves. Audrey, Jane, Lonnie, and Evie were very proud of themselves.

There was so much activity and stress in recent weeks that Ben had taken to worrying about Mal and the baby. They had been promised multiple times that everything was perfectly fine. The baby was healthy and Mal was doing well. But still, Ben worried.

"You look stunning, Mal." Audrey said.

Mal was looking at herself in the mirror, not feeling that confident. She ran her hand over the silky white fabric of her dress (white meant purity supposedly, and even though that was a big fat lie, she wanted something to be traditional). Evie had initially planned to make it, but when the date was changed, it became clear that she wouldn't have the time. She was a full-time college student studying to be a teacher and simply couldn't take on such a big project, but she had been able to make changes to the dress that was bought to make it suit Mal's personality more.

"What's wrong?" Lonnie asked.

"Nothing, I'm fine." Mal lied. Truth be told, not only did she feel out of place and uncomfortable, she didn't feel very well. She wasn't sure if it was her nerves or the baby or a mixture of the two. She had a headache and sort of felt like she was going to cry.

The girls exchanged a look, clearly not buying it, but they didn't press the issue. Mal was stubborn and probably wouldn't tell them anyway.

There was a knock on the door. Audrey opened it a crack and peeked around it.

"Oh hey, Aud. You look...uh, pretty." Jay's voice said. Evie giggled to herself. He always tried so hard to watch what he said and how he said it when they were at the cathedral and he never sounded like himself when he did.

Audrey smiled. "Thanks,"

"We came to talk to Mal, if that's okay."

Audrey looked behind her to Mal, who nodded.

"Sure," Audrey replied. She glanced at Jane, Lonnie and Evie and nodded towards the door. Mal grabbed Evie's hand, a silent way to ask her to stay.

The other three girls slipped out of the room and the boys came in and shut the door behind them. It was then just the four of them in a back room in the cathedral.

Those three were Mal's family, her siblings, they knew her better than anyone, except for maybe Ben. Jay and Evie glanced at each other and then back to Mal.

"Wow, Mal. You look... beautiful." Carlos told her.

She smiled a little. "Thanks,"

"Ben's so gonna cry." Jay said with a mischievous grin.

"What? Why?"

"He's going to cry when he sees you. He's already almost cried twice." Jay explained.

"He's really, really happy." Carlos added.

"I'm glad someone is." Mal muttered.

"What?" Carlos asked. "I thought you wanted to get married."

"I do! And I love Ben so much, but this whole thing is crazy. I'm getting married today and then a minute after, I'm going to be made queen of a whole country! And then a few months from now, I'm going to have a kid. And not just any kid, no, the kid is going take over the country when they turn sixteen and I have to not screw it up. ...and I'm not sure I can do it."

"Hey," Evie said, squeezing her hand. "Don't talk like that. You're going to be an amazing queen, M. We know it, Ben knows it, the whole country knows it. We all believe in you. Everyone out there loves you, Mal. That's why they're here."

Mal looked up at her. She did want to marry Ben. It was everything else she was afraid of.

"This wedding is a formality. You and Ben love each other, you have since high school. And you've unofficially been helping Ben run this county for years. You can do this. You already have been doing it. And you're going to be a great mom."

Carlos spoke up. "It's a lot all at once, but if I know you as well as I think I do, you're going to be amazing."

"We've got your back, Mal. You're never going to have to do anything by yourself." Jay added. "We love you."

"Get over here, you saps." Mal said, initiating a group hug. "I love you too, you losers. Thank you." She felt better. She was still nervous, but now she was more excited.

Soon, the boys left and after a few minutes, the girls came back in, Katie in tow. Katie was Mal and Ben's little friend. She was the daughter of Princess Anna and Prince Consort Kristoff of Arendelle and she and Mal had been buddies since Katie was five. They had babysat for her a few times and she was their flower girl, as she was the only child they were close to. She was very excited.

"Mal, you look so pretty!" Katie gushed.

"Aw, thank you Katie. You look pretty too." Mal said, giving her a hug. The little girl was in a white dress with a ribbon tied around her waist in the same shade of soft green as the girls' dresses. Instead of her usual bright green, Mal had opted for a softer shade. She had also opted for soft pink flowers.

"I saw Ben, he says hi." Katie told Mal, making her smile.

"Jay's already teasing Ben about how gorgeous you look." Lonnie announced.

The girls laughed.

"You know what's weird? Seeing Jay and Carlos in tuxedos." Mal said. "It's throwing me off."

All the boys were in tuxedos, even Dude (he was in the wedding too because he was family, Katie was in charge of walking him down the aisle), but it was just weird to see her best friends in them.

Belle came in to give Mal a hug and tell her she looked beautiful.

Before anyone knew it, it was time.

Katie was the last person to go before Mal, so she spent the few minutes before it was her turn, holding Mal's hand, which Mal was thankful for.

Katie and Dude walked all the way down the long aisle before it was Mal's turn and the whole time, she was growing more and more anxious. And then it was her turn.

No one was walking her down the aisle to 'give her away'. She knew her father, but they weren't close enough to warrant that. They'd only known each other for a few years. He was there, though.

The cathedral was full of royalty from every corner of Auradon, all smiling at her. Her hands were sweaty and she dearly hoped no one could tell how fast her heart was beating.

Despite all the events of the day, the one thing she would remember for the rest of her life was the look on Ben's face when he saw her.

Everything in the ceremony went by in a blur. Both of then were crying. Belle was crying. Evie was crying. There was a lot of crying. It was all happy crying.

After they were officially married, Fairy Godmother came up to make Mal queen with her wand.

After that had happened, the newly married couple looked to her expectantly. Fairy Godmother smiled. "If the last few weeks have taught me anything about you two it's that you need to be more patient. Goodness. Yes, you can kiss now."

There was laugher from the guests, but that quickly turned to cheering as their lips met.

"Give me your hand, Ben." Mal murmured after they split apart. Everyone was momentarily distracted. The wedding party was leaving.

Ben, confused, did as he was asked.

She put his hand on her stomach and watched his eyes light up.

"Is that-?"

"Mhm," she promised with a smile. He hadn't felt the baby yet and he joked that it was because it was as stubborn as its mother. The kid had some good timing.

"Amazing," he said in awe before kissing her again.

Hands down, it was one of the best days of her life.

* * *

 _ **A/N: My babies. They're so cute! Next chapter will be focused on Ben because the baby's going to be around!**_

 ** _I hope you guys enjoyed this. Let me know what you think!_**

 ** _Happy 2016 to all of you! :)_**


	4. The King's Most Important Job

**Here's the last chapter (mainly) featuring Ben and Mal's baby for a while. This one is all about Daddy Ben. Enjoy! :** )

* * *

As King of Auradon, Ben wore many figurative hats. Taxes, keeping up with the needs and wants of the citizens, helping the impoverished, and working with his wife on ways to help those on The Isle of the Lost were just a few of his many jobs and responsibilities.

He was up to his neck in all the things he had to do, but by far, the most important job he had was being a father. It was also the job he loved best.

About three months (give or take) after the "royal wedding of the century" as the press liked to call it, Mal and Ben had welcomed their little son into the world. The future king was six pounds, two ounces and had only been about six hours old by the time the entire kingdom had fallen in love with him.

The baby's name was Henry. Henry was a wonderful child from the very first day. He was a good sleeper, he rarely cried, he smiled and laughed often, and he loved to be cuddled. He was also a very intelligent child, you could tell by the way he looked at things. Both of his parents adored him.

Unfortunately for Ben, it seemed as though the kingdom had been kind to him leading up to both the wedding and Henry's birth because for the last several months it seemed like there was endless paperwork and things to do for him to do and check on.

Mal was with Henry most of the day because of all the work he was doing and she loved that baby, but even the best children can wear out a mother. Henry was crawling and he liked to explore, leaving her to go after him all day while she herself had things to do. There was a ball coming up and the queen was always in charge of planning it, but chasing a nine month old around tended to occupy most of her time. She was exhausted and it showed. Ben felt terrible.

She snapped at him one night.

It was nine, a whole hour and a half after Henry's bedtime. It had been the fourth night in a row he hadn't come to kiss the baby goodnight and Henry had started to cry for him. Again. Mal had been able to get him to calm down, but it took a while.

"I've been busy, Mal, you know that!" he tried to defend himself.

"Yeah, well, he doesn't! He's not even a year old! He misses you! The stupid paperwork can wait ten minutes while you come tell your son goodnight! The kingdom won't implode!" She couldn't yell, as Henry's room was just across the hall, but by the severity of her tone, she may as well have been. "Come to think of it, your wife misses you as well. But I guess the taxes on school supplies in Agrabah are more important than her too!"

"Mal-" he put his hand on her arm.

"Save it." she growled, shaking his hand off. "I'm sick of your excuses, Benjamin."

He was pretty sure that the only reasons she didn't go sleep in the room she and Evie shared as teenagers that night was the fact that she got to bed first and she couldn't unplug the baby monitor from the outlet to take it with her without moving a dresser.

She was tried and angry and upset, but those words were long overdue and he knew it. He promised himself to be a better father and a better husband.

And so, the following day, Ben stopped working at lunch and finished early to play with his son before dinner. He was there to kiss him goodnight and he didn't even go back to his office. He stayed with Mal and watched a stupid movie with her that they both got more deeply invested in than they should have.

The kingdom didn't fall apart. Everything was the same in the morning as it had been the evening before. The only thing that changed was how much happier he was.

That had been a few weeks ago and in that short amount of time, he felt closer to Henry than ever. Mal was no longer exhausted, Ben was no longer strung too thin. They were both happy.

* * *

A quiet whimper came from the baby monitor. Ben's eyes flew open. It was dawn, judging by the light coming in from the window. Henry was an early riser.

Mal rolled over, but didn't wake. Ben leaned over and kissed her on the side of the head, making her stir and smile a little in her sleep. No reason for her to get him, he was already awake.

He got up and quietly opened their bedroom door before going across the hall to his son's pale yellow room.

He turned off the monitor and shut the door, so they wouldn't wake Mal.

Henry was standing in his crib, holding onto the side, whimpering a little.

"Morning, buddy." Ben greeted softly, turning on the lamp.

"Dada," Henry said, smiling.

Ben smiled back and lifted the little boy up. "It's an early onetoday, huh, Henry? Mommy hasn't even considered getting up yet, so I guess it's just me and you."

"Ball?" Henry asked.

"We can go play with your ball soon, alright? You need to be changed first and you need to eat too."

Henry cuddled into Ben's side.

"Or, yeah, cuddling works too." Ben grinned, holding the boy closer. Ben was a hugger, but Mal had wanted to be held all the time while she was pregnant and be wondered which one of them Henry had gotten his love of cuddles from.

Being a dad wasn't exactly easy, but it was an adventure and it was usually fun. It was totally worth it and he wouldn't change a thing.

Especially since the love of his life was his little boy's mom.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Aww, these cuties. I will say that Henry will eventually be a big brother, but that won't be for a while yet.**_

 ** _Next up: Evie and Doug's first baby! Their reactions and everything are going to be very different than Ben and Mal's, so look forward to that!_**

 ** _Let me know what you think about Ben and Henry!_**

 ** _I hope your 2016 started off well!_**

 ** _See you soon!_**


	5. Two Teachers and a Baby

_**Here it is, the long awaited Evie/Doug chapter! As you can probably tell, I changed the characters from Ben and Mal to Evie and Doug and I will do this every time someone else has a kid.**_

 **As I said at the start, this story goes through the kids' birth order, not by couple, so there will be a little overlap eventually** , _**but for now, enjoy this fluff!**_

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

Evie and Doug both loved kids. That was no secret. They had both become teachers after all.

Initially, they both wanted to teach elementary school. Evie stayed on that path with a degree in Early Childhood Education which allowed her to teach preschool through third grade and an added endorsement for grades four and five, but Doug had ended up with a degree in High School science after he learned that he couldn't handle twenty five little ones all at once.

After they graduated college, Evie had gotten immediately picked up by Ben's old elementary school as a fifth grade teacher and Doug taught Chemistry to three classes of tenth graders and Honors Biology to a class of ninth graders every day.

Teaching suited them well. Evie was the teacher who gave plenty of hugs and lots of praise. She encouraged the girls in her class to start thinking that science was for them to love too, not just the boys. She was enthusiastic and friendly and the kids loved her. Doug quickly became one of the most well-loved teachers at the high school because of his kindness and enthusiasm. He was endearingly awkward and patient with his classes. He often spent his lunches explaining things to struggling students. If class finished early, he told the class about his high school experiences (and about how he met and eventually fell in love with Evie, involving everyhing from that first day to how he managed to ask her to marry him, which was so full of embarrassing moments that made even the kids having terrible days laugh).

They knew they wanted kids of their own, they just didn't know when.

Jay often asked them why they wanted to home to a screaming baby when combined, they encountered over a hundred kids a day. Surely, they had enough to deal with.

They couldn't really answer that. Evie's response was always that maybe he'd understand one day, but besides that, there was no clear answer other than they just did.

Evie's initial worry about her ability to be a good mother because of her upbringing almost outweighed how much she wanted kids until Henry came along.

Henry was just over a year old, talking and walking (and running) and was positively adorable all the time. He was adored by everyone because he was such a happy, even tempered, and well behaved little guy. His parents loved him most of all.

Mal loved him more than Evie thought was ever possible and it was obvious that Henry loved her just as much. And if Mal could love her baby as much as she did, Evie was sure she could do the same if the opportunity ever came along.

And it did.

Just a lot sooner than she ever imagined it would.

But she was excited all the same.

She kept quiet for a whole week about her news before she decided that she didn't need to do anything special because a baby was exciting enough all on its own.

Doug was grading tests at the dining room table while Evie was cutting out things to update the bulletin board in her classroom for the new unit they would be working on. She kept glancing up at him, trying to time it so he would be in the middle of something too important when she told him.

Finally, it appeared she had the perfect opportunity when he started grading the True/False portion of the test.

"So, you remember how Lacey was all excited last week because her parent told her they had a surprise for her?" Lacey was a student in Evie's class who Doug heard about often because she was one of Evie's favorite kids (not that teachers were supposed to have favorites).

"Yeah, did they finally tell her?" Doug looked up, red pen poised over someone's wrong answer.

"They did. She's getting a little brother or sister." That was the truth. And it was the perfect way to bring up the topic of babies.

"Aw, I bet she's really excited now."

"She is." Evie replied, putting down her scissors. "I don't think I've ever seen a kid so excited."

"Well, babies are exciting." Perfect.

"I was hoping you'd say something like that."

"Why?"

She bit her lip before continuing. "Because Lacey's family isn't the only one getting a new baby."

He looked at her blankly for a minute before it clicked. "Evie, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

She smiled. "Depends on what you think I'm saying."

He put his pen down. "Are we-you- I..." He took a deep breath before trying again. "Are you pregnant?"

She nodded.

"This isn't some kind of joke, is it?"

"Of course not!"

"I'm really going to be a dad? And you're going to be a mom?"

"Yeah."

"Evie, that's-this is-this is amazing!" he stood suddenly, Chemistry tests forgotten. "A baby! Our baby!"

Evie laughed and got up to give him a hug. "I'm so glad you're excited."

"How could I not be?" he asked. "This is wonderful news."

She smiled brightly and kissed his cheek.

"You know what, I'm starting to sense a pattern."

"A pattern?" she asked curiously. A pattern of what? Did she miss something?

"Yes, a pattern," he replied, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "All the best days of my life seem to include you." He kissed her.

Doug may not have jumped up and down or caused a fuss, but she knew he was just as excited as she was. He just showed it in his own quiet, sweet way. That was just one of the many things she loved about him. He was going to be a great dad.

* * *

 _ **A/N: If these two aren't a couple in the sequel, I will riot, I swear. They're precious.**_

 ** _What gender do you think the baby will be? Let me know your guesses and thoughts in a review if you can!_**

 ** _See you soon!_**


	6. Colored With Love

**_I'm back with the second part of Doug and Evie! I'm very excited, this turned out super sweet._**

 ** _I'll save my rambling for the end. Enjoy!_**

* * *

All things considered, Evie thought she was being quite calm.

Internally, she was shrieking. But that was frowned upon while teaching a bunch of fifth graders how to add fractions.

So she was calm. Well, relatively anyway.

The kids weren't dumb. They picked up on her energy halfway through the day and a freckle-faced boy raised his his hand during silent reading time right before lunch.

She had been leafing through the history textbook, but she looked up when she saw his hand. "Yes, Jake?"

"You seem anxious."

The class snickered. That was one of their vocabulary and spelling words for the week.

Evie smirked. "Was that an excuse to show me your broadening vocabulary or a real concern?"

He thought for a moment before honestly replying. "Both."

"I thought so." she smiled. Ten and eleven year olds were an interesting age group to work with. Nosy and chatty, somewhat easily distracted and bossy, but sweet none the less.

"So, are you anxious?" someone else asked.

"I... yeah, I guess so."

"How come?" Lacey questioned.

"Well, aren't you all inquisitive this morning?"

The kids laughed. Inquisitive was a bonus spelling word.

"Well, I'll tell you. But it's kind of a secret."

Suddenly, all of them got dead serious and leaned forward in their seats, books forgotten. Secrets were a big deal to kids. It wouldn't be any kind of secret secret past eight o'clock that evening, not that it was really a secret anyway, but they could feel special.

"I trust you guys though. So I'll tell you."

"Does it have something to do with your baby?" a boy asked. The class knew she was pregnant, of course. They had too. She felt obligated to tell them she might miss the last few weeks of school if the baby came earlier than anticipated.

"It does, actually. Yesterday I found out for sure if the baby is a boy or a girl."

"What is it?" Lacey asked. She was the little girl getting a baby sibling, a brother to be exact.

"You promise you won't tell anyone? I haven't even told my friends yet." Doug knew, of course. And they had called his parents and little sister to tell them the previous evening. They were going to Mal and Ben's later that day and Mal demanded she tell them the gender there (Mal was the first person other than Doug to know she was pregnant and was extremely excited for her).

The class nodded and chorused their promises.

"It's a little girl." Evie herself couldn't really believe it was true, but it was. There was proof.

The class aww'd and cheered and it was very sweet and Evie smiled.

She and Doug both cried when they found out. Both of them wanted a daughter badly, though they probably would've cried either way. That's just how they both were.

Evie was thrilled for pink and sparkles and everything, but that wasn't the only reason she had wanted a girl. There were a lot of reasons. One of which was making her middle name either Annabelle (which was Doug's mother's name) or Mallory (for Mal, obviously). She was also looking forward to spending time with her little girl as a person and getting her nails painted awfully by clumsy little hands and not washing it off instead of treating her as a doll and teaching how to do makeup before she learned her alphabet.

She promised herself long ago that if she ever had kids, she'd give them the attention she wished she had been given when she was little. She wouldn't care about slouching or messy braids, she wanted to read books at bedtime and play with her daughter in the backyard.

Evie and her class chatted about the baby until it was time to line up for lunch. They asked her about names and toys and everything those little minds could come up with, like how could the doctor tell it's a girl to are you gonna make her lots of clothes?

When the bell rang for lunch, Evie walked the kids to the cafeteria as usual, but before they went in, almost every kid gave her a hug or a high five or a 'hand hug' before they went in.

Evie wasn't sure she had smiled so much at lunch time before.

By the end of the day, Evie had at least one crayon, marker, or colored pencil drawing from every child in her class 'to put in your baby's room if you want', as Lacey said. All of them were flowers and rainbows and hearts and stars and polka dots and cute animals.

Evie showed them to Doug after school and they both agreed they were going to hang them in their daughter's room after everything was set up, but before she arrived. They were too sweet and kind of a gesture to ignore.

Evie's cabinets at school were covered in her student's artwork and Doug even had a few things in his classroom from his classes. They both quickly learned that getting artwork and doodles meant that you were very loved by the kids you taught and they kept every piece and they would continue to. If Evie's students loved her that much and were that excited about a baby who hadn't even arrived yet, they had to display that love somewhere, didn't they?

* * *

As Evie and Doug had expected, their friends were very excited to be getting a little niece.

When Henry was still a newborn, Mal had cooed something to him about his almost-Aunt Evie and it just stuck.

Now Evie's little girl would have an Aunt Mal and Uncle Ben and Uncle Carlos and Uncle Jay and Aunt Audrey and Aunt Jane as well as her real Aunt Daisy (Doug's sister) and her grandparents. It was kind of a wild family set up, but no one would change it for anything. It was crazy and all over the place, but they weren't disfunction. It was a fun, loving sort of all over the place.

"What do you think, Henry?" Ben asked the boy who was curled up in his lap. "Are you excited your cousin's going to be a girl?"

"Baby girl." Henry said in his toddler way. He squirmed out of Ben's arms and toddled to where Evie and Doug were sitting and held his arms up. Doug picked him up and Henry giggled happily at both of them before repeating himself.

"Yes, we're going to a baby girl." Evie told Henry. "She's going to be little just like you used to be, but she'll grow up like you are. And you can help us teach her lots of things."

"I play baby girl." Henry replied.

"I'm sure she'll love that, Henry." Doug told him.

Henry smiled before crawling into Evie's lap, where he remained for most of the time they were over.

"Hey E," Mal said as Evie and Doug were leaving, stopping them both. "I'm pretty sure you already know, but in case you didn't, you're going to be a great mom."

Evie smiled and Mal came to give her a hug.

"I'm so happy for you." Mal said quietly.

"Thanks, M." Evie replied.

Mal hugged Doug too, surprising him.

"You're basically family, get used to it." Mal teased lightly.

When they got home, neither of them so much as opened their binders. It was Friday and they didn't have school the next day. Cuddling sounded much more enjoyable anyway.

Between their friends and family, and of course them, their baby girl was going to be very loved.

* * *

 _ **A/N: So Evie and Doug are having a baby girl! Yay!**_

 _ **I didn't ever mention Mal and Ben learning Henry's gender because I don't think they would've, they would've found out when he was born. Evie strikes me as someone who needs to be able to plan things and I don't think she could've dealt with a gender neutral nursery, especially when she would've brought**_ _ **home a little girl.**_

 ** _Next chapter, I'm thinking baby shower? Give me your input! If you want to see something else besides that or a baby shower, let me know by leaving me a review! I read them all when I need to find inspiration, your kind words make me happy._**

 ** _See you soon!_**


	7. Baby Shower Fun

**I'm back again with the baby shower! This was actually kind of hard for me, even though I've been to a whole bunch in the last few years. I've never been a parent though, so** _ **maybe that's the problem. I don't know. Anyways, I hope you like this!**_

* * *

Nightmares were never any fun, but they were significantly less fun when you had at least one a night and hadn't been sleeping right for at least a two weeks.

Because of that, Evie had become well aquatinted with the reverse text color option on her tablet. She had downloaded books meant for the age level of kids she was teaching and found most of them were fun, easy reads that succeeded in calming her mind down. And the fact that the text was white on a black background meant that she didn't have to worry about flooding the bedroom with bright white light and disturb Doug even more that she already was by waking up in a panic in the middle of the night or hurting her eyes.

The dreams were ridiculously vivid and all over the place. Monsters and the dragon form of Maleficent were commonplace, but there had been others too. Her house burned to the ground with a baby inside it in one, her entire class in a school bus getting hit by a truck was another. They were all different kinds of terrifying.

Apparently, vivid dreams and nightmares were common during pregnancy, but that didn't make it any less scary.

And of course the worst one yet had to happen at three in the morning the day of the baby shower. It was one of those nightmares that lingers, keeping you on edge all day.

"How're you feeling?" Doug asked her as she was brushing her hair.

She shrugged. "Alright, I guess..."

"You guess?"

"I know it was a dream and that it's completely impossible. I shouldn't feel so... freaked out. I should be excited for today." She put her brush down and fixed a curl with her fingers.

"It's not your fault the dream felt so real, Evie. It's okay to be freaked out by a dream. No one thinks any less of you for it, I certainly don't. And you shouldn't either."

She sighed. "I just wish they'd stop soon."

"I know." Doug replied gently, taking her hand. "And unfortunately, I can't promise you that. But I can promise you that they'll stop eventually. And I promise that today's going to be a good day."

She smiled for the first time all morning. It would be a good day. They were going to spend it with their friends and family. Besides, parties had a way of making everyone happy.

* * *

Baby showers were only the biggest 'girls only' event behind wedding showers, save little kids and the father of said baby.

Ben, Jay, Carlos, and Chad had plans that day for who knows what. Jay had teased Doug for weeks about being stuck with baby-struck women all afternoon, but he said he didn't mind. Ben added that he actually had a good time at the one for Henry, but Jay still didn't buy it.

Evie had been banned from helping with the party too much. It was in the hands of Mal, Audrey, Lonnie, and Jane with help from Doug's mother and sister, Snow White, and Belle.

Snow was very fond of Evie and they got along really well and she often said that Doug (and Daisy) was her favorite of the massive brood of kids all seven dwarves managed to have, so she was more than eager to help.

Belle, of course, was really the closest thing Evie had to a mother at that point and loved to help her in any way possible. When she found out Evie was having a little girl, she was thrilled. "It's about time we have some little girls around here," she had said. The party was even going to be held in the castle's garden.

Evie and Doug arrived exactly five minutes before Mal had told them to come.

Daisy was the first to notice they had shown up and came running over to hug both of them. She was eighteen and going to be graduating that June. She was a little awkward and on the quiet side, but bubbly and sweet.

"Hi Daisy," Doug greeted.

"Hi!" Daisy bounced a little.

"You look awfully cute today." Daisy always looked cute. She wore a lot of floral patterned clothes, it was just her thing. She didn't do it because of her name, but she thought it was funny when someone pointed it out. Today she was wearing a dress with a pattern of purple flowers on it.

Daisy glanced down at her dress. "I almost forgot what I was wearing," she giggled. "Thanks."

Evie chuckled. "You seem excited, I guess that's a good sign?"

"About the party? Oh, yeah, it's so cute!" Daisy promised Evie. "You'll like it a lot, I promise."

"You're early!" Mal chastised, walking up the path, arms crossed.

"By five minutes!" Evie protested. She had told herself she wasn't going to let her nightmare get the better of her and was determined to see it happen.

"Couldn't you two let go of the need to be early for one day?" Some people were compulsively late, Evie and Doug were compulsively early all the time.

"No," Evie replied.

Mal laughed and hugged her best friend tightly. "I figured as much. Good thing everything's ready."

"Can we see it?"

"Of course, come on."

The tent in the garden was decorated with light pink and purple everything. The theme of the baby's nursery was going to be butterflies, so they carried it over into the baby shower and it suited the venue perfectly.

Jane was very crafty and she had made an entire garland of little paper butterflies to hang up. There were butterfly balloons and cutouts and a banner that said "Welcome Baby" and Evie was certain she hadn't seen so much cute in her whole life.

"So, do you like it?" Mal asked.

"I love it!" Evie gushed.

"It looks great," Doug added.

"Good. I'm glad." Mal replied. "I'm so glad Henry turned out to be a boy. I couldn't handle living with this frilly, girly stuff."

"Your baby shower was baby animals."

"Yeah, thank God."

"Mal, you're wearing pink now. You wear it all the time." Doug pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's not this color." Mal waved her hand at a pastel butterfly. She was wearing a dress that was a darker pink.

"What happens if you ever have a girl?" Evie asked.

"...we'll cross that bridge when if we get there."

Evie laughed. Ben wanted more kids, Mal wasn't so sure yet. They had plenty of time to figure that out.

The party was a lot of fun. There were a lot of people there. Fairy Godmother, Aurora, and Jasmine came. There were school friends, college friends, and teacher friends there.

Audrey had been super excited about games, so they played some. There had been a game where people had to write down answers to questions about Evie and whoever got the most right was the winner. Doug's mother ended up winning that game.

They got a ridiculous amount of baby clothes and toys and a bunch of diapers.

"Doesn't this seem a little excessive?" Doug asked.

"Trust me, you can never have too many diapers." Mal replied dryly. Every mother nodded in agreement.

There was a lot of awwws at the little clothes and things, from both Evie and Doug and everyone else. They got books too, lots of them.

Mal had given a mother-daughter bracelet set as a present. It was beautiful. "I know she'll be too little at first, but you can save it for when she gets older."

Evie was having such a good time, she forgot about her nightmare. There was a lot of laughter and general good feelings.

Henry managed to get cake in his hair somehow even though Mal had been feeding some to him with a fork.

"You better get used to messes, E. This one, honestly, you can't take him anywhere," Mal joked, picking frosting out of her squirmy toddler's hair. "Just like his father."

Belle burst into laughter at that, making everyone crack up.

After all the presents were open and everyone had cake, there was a lot of sitting around and talking, which was nice.

"Have the two of you picked a name yet?" Snow White asked.

"Kind of." Evie replied. "We have a list of about ten names and we're down to two middle names."

"Two only?" Snow inquired.

"Yeah, um, Annabelle and Mallory." Doug replied. For some reason, the middle names were easier to choose.

"Where did those come from?" Lonnie asked.

"Well, Annabelle is my mom's name-" Doug nodded towards his mom, who was overjoyed about being a grandmother.

"Oh, right." Lonnie replied, looking at the woman and smiling.

"And Mallory because, her." Evie pointed at her best friend, who smiled.

"Your name's Mallory?" Jasmine asked the girl.

"No," Mal replied. "But it's close enough." And it was left at that.

"May I ask what some of the possible first names are?" Aurora asked.

"Um, Elizabeth I know is on there." Doug replied, trying to think back to the list they had.

"Riley, Talia..." Evie added. Gosh, she didn't realize recalling names was so difficult. No wonder why Belle sometimes called Henry 'Ben' on accident.

"Paisley, Hannah, Lindsey,"

"Lucy, Kailey..."

Doug snapped his fingers when he remembered. "Diana is the last one." Evie nodded. Yes, that was it.

"All of them are good." Belle commented. They were really cute names.

"How are you going to pick one?" Daisy asked, curiously.

Doug shrugged. "I don't know."

"We'll figure it out." Evie smiled, leaning against him. He smiled.

"Could you two be any cuter?" Lonnie wondered aloud.

Audrey chimed in. "Seriously though, you two are gonna be the parents who embarrass your little girl at school functions because you're so cute all the time."

"Well, I say having parents that are that much in love that makes her one lucky little girl." Doug's mother said.

All too soon, the party ended and people started to leave. Every person in attendance got at least one hug from Evie and or Doug. Mal and Belle shooed the expectant parents out too (after hugs and everything, of course), refusing to allow them help clean up.

* * *

Evie was stacking toys in the closet of the baby's room-they didn't need them yet. She had hung up the little clothes already.

The room was shaping up nicely. It had already been painted pink, and Mal promised to paint a butterfly on the wall for them before the baby was born. They needed to out the crib together and that was really all that was left.

"Evie, I am continuously amazed at your organizational skills." Doug said, walking into the room.

She turned around. "Well, I'd rather it be clean than messy. And the best way to keep anything clean is by organizing."

"Still, I'm impressed."

She smiled. "You know what? Once we got to the party, I didn't think about that dream once."

"Well good, I'm glad."

She wrapped her arms around his neck. "Did you have funtoday?"

"Absolutely. The way Jay talked about it, you'd think I was going to be sacrificed to the baby gods or something."

Evie snickered.

"I had a very good time."

"Good... You smell like cake."

"Henry rubbed frosting on me at some point, I think."

Evie laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You smell like flowers."

"Maybe I should spend a few hours in the castle garden more often then."

There was a pause before Doug spoke. "It's kind of crazy to think we're going to be parents in a couple weeks, isn't it?"

"We already are," Almost as if to protest his words, the baby kicked pretty hard, making her flinch.

"Well, technically yes. But in a couple weeks, our daughter is going to be here with us, instead of kicking you... I'm excited."

"Me too," Evie replied. She was so excited. She was going to be a mom. She was going to be the best mother she could be, in spite of her own mother. There were more important things in life than being pretty and doing your makeup well and she was going to make sure her daughter was well aware of that.

"You sound tired, sweetheart."

"Exhausted," she corrected.

"Then we should probably get to bed."

"Yeah..."

That night, Evie didn't have a single nightmare. She was too happy to think a single bad thought. Her little girl, however fierce a kicker, was a dream come true, and nothing could compete with that kind of joy.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I'm a sappy dork, in case you couldn't tell.**_

 ** _In response to a review about Ben and Mal having more kids- you'll see!_**

 ** _So, I have a first name picked out (one from the list), but I can't choose between Annabelle and Mallory, so I'd love for you guys to help me decide! Leave a comment with the middle name you like best!_**

 ** _Next chapter, you get to meet the baby girl when Evie brings her to visit her class (someone suggested that in a review, which is funny because that's what I had planned all along!)._**

 ** _Thanks for reading! Leave a review letting me know your thoughts!_**

 ** _See you soon!_**


	8. First Day at School

_**Here we get to meet Evie and Doug's baby girl! The middle names ended up tied, so I just picked one. I hope you enjoy!**_

* * *

Her class had absolutely no idea she was there, which was going to make the visit even more fun. She had promised them a visit with the baby before the baby came and couldn't bear to disappoint them.

Her little one decided to make a bit of an early appearance, but was thankfully perfectly healthy.

The first day Evie missed of school was a Friday (her little one was born at two twenty seven that morning, actually) and her class had asked about seven trillion questions to the teacher across the hall, who Evie had texted before school that day with what to tell the kids.

Now the baby was three weeks old and they decided they could take her to visit the class. Doug was there too, but the kids had met him twice already, so him being there would not be a big deal. They weren't going to bring the baby to the high school- they'd be there all day. He just had pictures to show them.

The class was in music, so Evie and Doug were waiting for them in the classroom and talking to the substitute.

"The kids are going to be so excited when they see you." the substitute said. "It was so hard not telling them. But I think it'd be better as a surprise."

"Me too," Evie replied.

The sub glanced at the clock. "It's time to go get them. I'll be back with twenty four really excited ten year olds." She left the room.

"Honestly, I wish my classroom could look like this." Doug commented. Everything was owl themed with lots of posters and decorations on the walls. "High school is not as much fun as elementary school."

Evie laughed. "That is so true."

A tiny coo prompted the two of them in the room to look down at the baby car-seat on the floor between them.

"Well, look who's up." Doug said quietly.

The baby started to whimper. Her parents were probably little more than blurs to her baby eyes and she didn't know who was talking to her. She was probably scared.

Evie crouched down to unbuckle her daughter and take her out. "Don't be scared, sweetheart. It's just us." Evie cooed quietly.

The little girl stopped fussing and blinked up at Evie, snuggling against her.

"Pretty sure this isn't ever going to get old." Evie commented, looking at the little girl fondly.

"Yeah, probably not." Doug replied, stroking their daughter's head.

She was in a little purple dress. It was ridiculously small, but it fit her perfectly. Daisy had gotten it for her and it was the cutest newborn sized outfit they had for her. No one really bought newborn clothes because babies weren't really in them long, so it was limited to onesies and basic stuff. It wasn't worth the effort to make something she'd only wear once.

There was the tell-tale sound of the class coming down the hall- no voices, just footsteps.

"Alright little one, these guys will be super excited to meet you. I'm sorry if they're loud."

The first child in the room was a boy named Brian. He stopped dead in his tracks, making Lacey run into him.

Lacey saw the baby and started bouncing.

"You're back!" the boy said loudly.

The shout wasn't on purpose of course, but it still startled the baby and made her cry.

Evie started rocking the baby and hushed her softly.

"I'm sorry," Brian apologized quickly, not moving even as the rest of the class filed in excitedly.

"It's okay," Evie replied. "She's fine, she just hasn't been around a lot of things yet, so she just got a little startled."

All the kids started asking questions all at once. It was very overwhelming. Evie was tempted to use one of her management techniques to regain control, but at the moment, she wasn't in charge.

The sub went went to the front of the room and held her hand up. "Give me five,"

The class followed suit and quieted immediately.

"I know you're all very excited and sure you guys can ask all about the baby. But you all take your seats.

Evie had never seen her class sit so quietly and pay attention so eagerly.

Evie smiled. "Well, first of all, it's so nice to see all of you. I've missed you so much."

"We missed you too!" someone said, and everyone else nodded.

"I hope you've been good for Miss Johnson."

The sub nodded from the other side of the classroom. "They've been wonderful."

"Good," Evie replied. "Well, clearly you've all noticed the baby. Her name is Talia."

They had decided on Talia Annabelle, the names fit well together and were cute. There would probably be future little ones to name Mallory.

"She's really small," Jake commented.

"Yeah, she's pretty little, isn't she? Evie replied, shifting Talia a little in her arms.

"She's cute!" Lacey commented enthusiastically.

Evie laughed a little. "Thank you, Lacey."

"Can we hold her?" a girl named Samantha asked.

"I'd love it if you could, Sami, but I'm afraid that she's too little. Babies can get sick very easily."

"I'm not sick though."

"I know. There some things that won't make you sick because you've been exposed to them so many times that they can't affect you any more, but she hasn't been exposed to those things yet, so she can get sick from them."

Evie loved hose kids so much, but she couldn't risk Talia getting sick. Even if they did wash their hands. Kids were boogery germ pits, she knew that.

"Oh," Sami replied sadly.

The visit lasted the rest of the afternoon, so only two hours. Evie got to facilitate the spelling game Sparkle that her class loved so much.

As the kids were packing up to go home for the weekend, Brian came over to ask if she'd be back to teach them before school ended as Doug was bucking a squirmy Talia back into her car-seat.

"I don't think so, Brian. I'll be back next year, though. You can always come visit me." It was pretty close to the end of the school year.

"Will you come visit again?"

"Maybe,"

"Maybe means no." Brian sighed.

"Maybe means I don't know if I can, but I'll try my best." Evie said quietly. "How about I aim for the last day of school?"

Brian brightened. "Okay,"

The bell rang for the end of the school day. Brian hugged Evie before going back to his desk, grabbing his bookbag and following his friends out the door. The kids all waved at Evie, who waved back.

* * *

"Somebody's had a long day," Evie chuckled as she came out of Talia's room later that evening.

"I think anyone would with so many kids." Doug replied. "How do you teach them all day, everyday, Evie?"

"It's not easy, but I love it."

"They're cute, I'll give them that." Doug shrugged. "Very enthusiastic."

"Yeah," Evie sat on the couch. Their living room now was full of baby stuff- a playpen and a swing and a bouncer. It was hard to believe their home had been invaded so quickly by such a tiny creature. She was cute though, so she was worth it.

"I'm glad we've only got one."

Evie curled into his side. "Yeah..." Talia was a lot of work for something so small and slept most of the day. She couldn't imagine having twins or anything like that. As much as she adored Talia, one was plenty. For now, anyway.

Evie was sleepy. She always was now, it seemed. T woke up at least three times during the night. Every night. "I... forgot to put makeup on today, I think." she murmured.

"I doubt anyone noticed." Doug replied, hugging her close. "I certainly didn't. You look just as beautiful as always."

She smiled. "I probably look sleep-deprived, but thank you for saying that anyway."

Doug had learned that sometimes, it was best not to argue with her on such things as makeup and the lack thereof, so he didn't say another word. Instead, he kissed the top of her head.

She smelled the way she always smelled- vaguely of flowers and vanilla and a hint of glue and construction paper that came with being at a school. But now, she also kind of smelled like baby lotion and formula. He was pretty sure that he did too, to some extent.

Her breathing had slowed and he was stuck in a position that wasn't exactly the most comfortable, but he didn't even consider moving. She was sleep-deprived after all and she needed all the sleep she could get.

However, they would both agree that it was very worth it.

* * *

 _ **A/N: So you guys have met Talia Annabelle! I hope you find her as cute as I do!**_

 ** _Next up, you guys will get to learn about Jay and Audrey's family! I'm very excited. Their story is much different._**

 ** _Let me know your thoughts! See you soon!_**


	9. Surprise

_**So here I am, back with Audrey and Jay's story! This is drastically different than Mal and Ben and Evie and Doug's stories for many reasons, most of which will become clear later on.**_

 ** _I reached 50 reviews last chapter! Holy moly, thank you so much! I love you guys!_**

 ** _Enjoy this chapter!_**

* * *

The door slammed and Audrey slid to the floor, huddled against a wall, shaking and hugging her knees tight to her.

She couldn't remember the last time she cried so hard. It was that awful, painful sort of cry.

She felt helpless.

She hated fighting with Jay, absolutely hated it with ever fiber of her being. It happened often, not too frequently, yet regularly. But it had never been this terrible.

He was so mad, he left.

She took a few quivering deep breaths to try and calm herself down. Her makeup was a wreck, she was sure, but that wasn't important at the moment.

She lightly ran her hand over her abdomen, over a baby that wasn't supposed to be there.

She and Jay had never spoken about having kids. They weren't even engaged! Her parents were not going to be happy when they found out...

Oh, what a scandal. The press would have a field day with it. Sleeping Beauty's daughter and the son of Jafar having a child out of wedlock. As if half the tabloid readers didn't already think she had cheated on him last Tourney season with Chad.

Audrey grabbed her phone off the table beside her once she trusted herself to be calm and dialed the person she knew would have advice and wouldn't judge her.

"Hey Audrey!" Evie's characteristically cheerful voice said.

"Hi,"

"Audrey, what's wrong?" Evie's ability to read tone was incredible.

"I need to talk to you..."

"Is this big? Mal's here... should I move or should she hear it too or what?"

Big surprise, Mal and Evie were practically attached at the hip. Especially now since school was out and Evie didn't have a job to go to.

Mal was a mom, one who had been unsure and reluctant about her pregnancy at first too. But she was already supposed marry Henry's father and Ben was incredibly excited about becoming a dad.

Even so, perhaps Mal could help. "She can hear too."

Audrey could hear Evie change to speaker phone.

"Hi Audrey," Mal said tentatively.

"I'm pregnant," Audrey blurted, her eyes filling with a fresh round of tears "I'm pregnant and I don't want to be and Jay stormed off because he's so mad and we had a huge fight and-and I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" she wailed.

Her friends were silent for a good minute.

"Jay stormed off?" Evie asked gently.

"Yes," Audrey sniffled.

"Why?"

"Because he doesn't want to have a kid. And frankly, neither do I, not right now-maybe not ever. But he kept saying he was too busy with Tourney and everything..." Jay played professional Tourney. He was the best player on his team. It was very demanding and Audrey was very proud of him.

Audrey was a princess, she didn't really have a reason to have a job, but she turned out to be really good at designing flower bouquets and it was something she enjoyed.

She didn't travel with Jay during the season, not like some of the players' wives and girlfriends, she had a job. She went to a couple of his games, but they spent a lot of time apart during the season. They couldn't raise a kid like that.

"Did he yell at you?" Evie questioned.

"Yes. He wouldn't listen to me-!"

"I'm gonna kick his Tourney-playing, trophy-winning tooshy into next year." Mal grumbled, interrupting her. Once the two of them became friends, Mal became as protective over her as she was with Ben and Evie and Jay and Carlos.

Audrey managed a small giggle. "Tooshy?" Maleficent's daughter used the word tooshy?

"Henry and Talia are in the room." Mal explained. Henry was a little over two, Talia was eight weeks old. The kids were the only reason Mal would ever censor her swearing. That or being with important people. Audrey had learned many creative curses from the half-fairy.

"I'll join you," Evie told Mal. Audrey smiled.

"Audrey?" Evie's voice was gentle again.

"Hm?"

"Did you say you don't want the baby?"

"I-yeah... I don't want to have a baby. I mean, I don't think I do. Not yet. But I'm not really sure..."

"Jay is going to cool down and come home eventually," Evie promised. "And when he does, you two have to sit down and talk about this. Without yelling."

The princess scoffed. "Tell that to Jay."

"I can if you want me too. Or Mal can. He's afraid of Mal."

Mal snickered. "That's true."

Audrey wiped her eyes.

"Anyway, you two are going to sit and talk and decide what the two of you want to do with your baby together."

Audrey nodded at Evie's words. How sensible. How very Evie. "Alright, I'll try."

"If he gives you any trouble, you call us." Mal told Audrey. "We'll straighten him out,"

"I will. Thank you."

"Of course, Aud. Good luck."

"Thanks Evie. Bye you two."

"Bye," Mal and Evie chorused together.

Audrey hung up. She took a deep breath and stood up, straightening her dress as she did. She went to the bathroom to wash her face.

She loved being an aunt. She loved playing with Henry and watching him grow and get more intelligent all the time. She loved holding little Talia and watching her get excited in her little baby way when she was talked to. She loved hearing Henry's toddler voice call her Auntie Audrey. She loved those kids.

But at the end of the day, Talia and Henry went home with their parents who fed them and gave them baths and put them to bed changed their diapers and combed their hair. Being an aunt was a part time job, being a mom was a full time job. A full time job she didn't particularly want.

The apartment she 'shared' with Jay (she didn't technically live with him, she lived in her family's castle. She had to. She was next in line for the throne in their kingdom.) had one bedroom. There was no room for a kid in there, none. There was hardly room for her sometimes. Jay was a mess.

She dreaded telling Jay, but she dreaded telling her parents even more. They still really didn't approve of Jay. She was afraid of what they'd say, if what they'd do. But she was an adult. She didn't need their approval. Did she?

Damn it. Damn it all.

She heard the front door open. "Audrey?"

Audrey dried her face and peeked her head out of the bathroom. Jay was looking sheepish and almost... scared. His hands were in his pockets.

"How much do you hate me?" he asked tentatively.

"Significantly less than I should, I believe." She was terrified and upset too. She didn't blame him for being angry.

He took both of her hands. "I think we need to talk."

"I think we do." she replied quietly. They went and sat on the couch together.

It was a long conversation, one with a few tears and long periods of silence. There was no yelling or fighting, just talking.

"Audrey, I'm willing to give this whole 'parents' thing a shot if you are." Jay said quietly, hours after the conversation began.

She was willing, she realized. She loved kids and the two she knew best loved her too (at least, she was pretty sure Talia did, but she was just learning how to smile, so she couldn't really be sure). She always had loved kids (she had been one of those fourteen year old girls that named her future kids when she couldn't sleep at night), and yes it was scary, but new things always were. She'd like having a kid and not have to return it to it's parents at the end of the day.

And maybe they weren't ready, and maybe they'd have to change things in their lives to make it work, but life was unpredictable and they could figure it out just like every other set of parents on the planet. As long as they both tried.

"No backing out?" she asked him.

"No backing out. I promise. If you're in, I'm in."

"...I guess we're having a baby then." Audrey smiled a little.

"...I guess we are," Jay replied. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close.

She didn't even want to begin to imagine her family's reaction to the whole ordeal, but it didn't really matter at that moment.

She was going to be a mother and Jay was going to be a father and that was their choice.

* * *

 _ **A/N: How do you guys think everyone will react? What will Audrey's parents think? And what will Jay decide about Tourney? Stay tuned!**_

 ** _As always, I'd love_** ** _to hear your thoughts and predictions! They make me smile!_**

 ** _See you soon!_**


	10. Parents and Grandparents

**_Sorry this took so long, but the last half was giving me trouble. I hope you like it!_**

 ** _The first half is all dialogue!_**

* * *

"Oh God. Remind me why we're doing this again, Aud."

"Because my parents have the right to know they're going to be grandparents."

"But they already hate me."

"They don't hate you... you've jut never been their favorite person."

"Oh yeah, and the way to fix that is to go in there and tell them I got their only daughter pregnant."

"Okay, to be honest, I don't really want to do this either, but I'm going to suck it up and go in there so you have to come with me."

"But you're the pregnant one!"

"Yes, but I wouldn't be if it weren't for you."

"Yeah, the greasy villain kid who knocked up a princess."

"You're not greasy."

"But I am a villain kid."

"A villain kid who graduated with a 3.25 GPA and plays professional tourney. And spoils his niece and nephew rotten. Oh, and cried at both of his best friends' weddings."

"I told you, I'm allergic to the flowers Mal had."

"Mm, but what about Evie?"

"I-I stubbed my toe."

"Okay, Jay. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Can we just get this over with?"

"Yeah, we should."

* * *

Evie pulled Audrey down next to her and rubbed her arm. "I can't believe it," she murmured.

"Of all people... your mom told you that?" Ben asked, shifting a sleepy Henry in his arms. He knew Aurora very well and she was very sweet

"She didn't really say much, it was mostly my dad and grandma." Audrey sniffled. Her hands were squeezed together between her knees.

"Gosh, Audrey, I'm sorry." Doug said quietly.

The princess sighed. "It's okay..."

Jay had Tourney practice and Audrey had made him go even though he hadn't really wanted to. He was worried about her, but she told him she would be okay. The season was starting soon and he couldn't afford to miss any practices.

He had then insisted she go to Ben and Mal's because she clearly needed to vent to someone and they were almost always home because their jobs could be almost entirely done from their castle. Evie and Doug were over too because school hadn't started yet and even though Doug's mother and Daisy had taken Talia off their hands for the day, they had nothing to do. According to Evie, being teachers and the parents of a few week old made them inherently boring and retreat to the only place with a child available for cuddling. That child was Henry, who happened to be long overdue for his nap but refused to fall asleep because there were too many people over.

"I told you before and I'll tell you again," Mal said, setting a glass of water in front of Audrey and sitting down next to her. "You don't have to make your parents happy. They don't own you, they can't make you do what they want. You're your own person."

"But, they were so disappointed-!"

"Yeah? Well, it doesn't really matter what they think because you and Jay already decided to go through with this."

Audrey wiped her eyes. "What happens if they, like, never speak to me again? Or ignore the fact they even have a grandchild?"

"Then you forget them." Ben said after a moment of hesitation, surprising everyone. "If they act like that, they don't deserve your attention in any form. Not everything in the world can be like a perfect fairytale and I think our parent's generation still needs to learn that."

"Jay or no Jay, baby or no baby, they're still your parents and they should support you and love you no matter what." Doug added.

Evie nodded. "And if they don't, you've still got all of us as family."

"Yeah," Mal agreed, squeezing Audrey's hand. They had Talia and Henry as well as Belle and Adam, Carlos and Jane, Lonnie, and Chad on top of the four of them. They were family, a chosen family, and it was special and none of them would trade it for anything.

Ben and Doug nodded.

Evie hugged Audrey from the side

Henry wriggled to be put down, so Ben did, though he shook his head. Henry was so tired, he almost fell over as he toddled over to the couch. He bypassed Mal and instead stood directly in front of Audrey and held his arms up.

Audrey picked him up and put him in her lap. "What's up, buddy? Aren't you supposed to take a nap?"

Instead of answering, the toddler snuggled against her and almost instantly fell asleep. Her heart melted and she rubbed his back lightly.

She could definitely get used to baby cuddles.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you all so much for your patience! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave me your thoughts!**_

 ** _See you soon!_**


	11. Double Trouble

_**I am sick. I managed to squeak this out. Enjoy.**_

* * *

Belle had taken to treating Jay, Mal, Evie, and Carlos like her children years ago, but she never felt the need to mother Audrey.

Audrey used to be too much of a perfect princess. A little stuck up, bossy, kind of annoying. She got better once Ben broke up with her and even more fun once she had started dating Jay, but she still had her own parents and even her grandparents.

Well, she did, until she told them she was pregnant. Then they all but stopped speaking to her and it tore the poor girl apart.

Audrey had begun to spend more time at the castle than she had even when she and Ben were in a relationship. She was frequently lonely with Jay at Tourney so often and no parents to visit. Everyone felt bad for her and Jay, but no one could come up with a solution.

Luckily, Belle was very close with Aurora and called her to talk some sense into her old friend.

Belle was as polite as usual, but she used that tone of voice she possessed that could make anyone squirm.

She was on the phone for quite some time, but all remarks lead back to Audrey.

"How dare you treat the poor thing like this. Jay's a sweetheart. He's always been a sweetheart. They're so happy, I don't see what the issue is here. I've never seen her cry before this. I've never seen Jay look so worried. I don't care what Philip or Leah think, she's your daughter. She loves you and all she ever wanted was your approval. You always told me you wanted grandchildren and now you're getting one and you won't even speak to Audrey. No, it's not different. We both knew they weren't going to last. She's happy with Jay. She has been for years. I know you love her. You have to apologize- and mean it- if you want your daughter back."

It, amazingly, worked. Audrey was surprised when, prompted by a knock, opened the door to the apartment she had finally decided to start referring as hers as well, only to reveal her mother standing in the hallway.

There was a lot of hugging and Aurora apologized. Apparently, Philip and Leah were coming around to the idea too, though gradually (Stefan had been basically indifferent the whole time). Aurora had even apologized to Jay.

Because everything smoothed out so surprisingly easily and quickly, Audrey invited her mother along to the appointment where she was supposed to find out what her baby's gender was.

The appointment told them much more than that.

They hadn't even made it out of the doctor's office by the time Audrey and Jay simply had to call someone to tell them. They were simply too excited.

Evie and Doug were back at school, Carlos and Jane were spending the day with Fairy Godmother for whatever reason, Lonnie was traveling, Chad was with his parents, and Ben and Mal had taken Henry and gone somewhere for the weekend. They didn't really feel like bugging any of them, but there was someone they could call.

Audrey was shaking with excitement as she dialed the phone number. Jay was hugging her from behind and wouldn't stop and she didn't want him to. Aurora was beaming at the two of them from the other side of the lobby. They deserved a moment.

"Hello Audrey," Belle greeted pleasantly on the other line.

"Hi," Audrey replied.

"Pardon me for asking, but it everything okay? You sound sort of unlike yourself."

"Everything's okay. We just finished with the appointment."

"Oh, that was today! How did it go?"

"It went really well."

"Did you find out if it's a boy or a girl?"

Audrey laughed a little. "Yeah, we did. It's a boy. Actually, it's two of them."

"Two? Audrey, you're having twins?"

"Yup! Twins!"

Jay kissed the side of her head. It was a bit of a surprise to find out that they were suddenly expecting two babies instead of one, but he had definitely warmed up to the whole 'being a dad' thing over the last couple of weeks as Audrey had grown excited about being a mother and he definitely, definitely wanted a boy. Now he was going to have two.

"Oh Audrey, that's wonderful!"

"And they're identical!" Audrey added.

"Identical? Oh goodness. That's-"

"Crazy, I know. But we're excited."

"I'm excited for you! Congratulations!"

"Thank you!" Audrey replied.

"Alright, I'll let you go now. I know there's probably other people you want to call. Congratulations again. Bye."

"Bye!"

Belle hung up and Audrey put her phone away. She was giddy and smiling brightly.

"Audrey," Aurora walked towards her daughter and Audrey went to hug her. "I'm so happy for you..." Aurora looked up at Jay. "Both of you."

Jay smiled.

Aurora pulled Jay into the hug too.

"It's been a long time since there's been a little one around and now we're going to have two. Two little boys. How exciting!"

Two little boys, two little princes, bound to be active, athletic, and excitable. Auradon was definitely in for it.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Look out, Auradon. Two twin terrors are coming your way! You get to meet them next chapter!**_

 ** _I hope you liked this! Please leave me your thoughts! I'd really appr_** ** _eciate it!_**

 ** _See you soon,_**


	12. Better Than A Championship

_**I present to you the final chapter for Jay and Audrey's twins!**_

 ** _I know nothing about sports and locker rooms, please forgive me._**

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

Tourney games were always exciting. Jay never got tired of them, not ever. Each was just as exciting as the first and this one even more so- it was a championship game. His team had finally made it and it was a huge deal.

Evie, Doug, Talia, Ben, Mal, Henry, Carlos, Jane, Belle, Adam, Lonnie, and Chad and his girlfriend Amelia were there and everyone was thrilled for him. The only thing that could have made it better would be if Audrey was there, but she wasn't.

Poor Audrey was feeling really terrible as of late. She felt really awful about not feeling up to going, so awful in fact she cried, but there was no way Jay was going to let her come if she felt so bad. She was back home being kept an eye on by her parents two whole hours away.

Half an hour before the game started, Jay's phone rang.

It wasn't really against the rules to answer a ringing phone in the locker room, but it was kind of against how things were done. Of course exceptions were made for family emergencies.

Jay was going to ignore it, but something told him to flip it over. It was Audrey.

Audrey? Something was wrong.

He answered it. "Hey Aud, everything okay?"

"Yes and no?" replied a timid voice.

He covered his other ear with his hand so he could hear her better over the chatter in the locker room. "Audrey? What's the matter?"

"How much would you hate me if I told you your sons decidedtoday was a good day to make their grand appearance?"

Jay's eyes widened. "Today? Like right this minute?"

"Well not right this minute, but definitely today."

"Isn't it too early?"

"Twins usually come early. There's not that much room you know."

"Oh geez. Where are you now? Are you still at your parents'?"

"No, the hospital."

"Are you admitted?"

"Yeah,"

Going to the hospital and being admitted meant things were pretty serious. "Audrey!"

"What? I didn't want to call you until I knew for sure. I didn't want to worry you in case it was... what is it, Mom? Oh yeah, duh, false labor."

"Of course I'm going to worry, Audrey! Either way I'm going to worry!"

"Well don't, I'm okay."

"Audrey, I- I'm coming home."

"Jay, don't! You've wanted to play in a championship since, well, practically since I met you. You can't throw this one."

"Sure I can," Jay replied. Audrey meant the world to him and so did those babies, even more so than a championship game. There would be other games to play but he could never have a do-over of this day.

"Jay, no, I-"

"I'm not going to miss this."

"I don't want your coach or whatever to be mad at you and like, fire you?"

"I'm under contract and this is a family emergency-"

"It's not an emergency!"

"To me it is. Listen, I'll be there in two hours okay?"

Audrey sighed. She knew she couldn't argue. "Okay..."

"I love you,"

"I love you too." she replied.

The second Jay hung up the phone, he went to find his coach.

"Hey Jay, what's up? You never look this nervous before a game."

"I can't play today, coach."

"What? This is the biggest game we've ever played. We need you!"

"I know, but my... Audrey's in the hospital."

"She okay?"

"The twins-"

"Say no more, Jay. This is a big day for you. Bigger than a championship game. The team and the fans will understand. You go home."

"I feel kind of bad for ditching out-"

"No, Audrey needs you and so do those babies. We'll be here next season, Jay. You go be with your family."

"Thanks Coach!"

"No problem,"

Jay turned around to grab his stuff.

"Jay?"

He turned back around.

"Congratulations."

"Thanks,"

Once Jay had got all his stuff together, he called Evie's phone (she was like a teenaged girl, she always had her phone) to tell her he wasn't going to be playing in the game because the twins were most definitely going to be born that day and he was going home.

"Would you like us to come home too?"

"No, you guys can all stay and watch. Someone has to tell me how the game went."

"Alright. Give Audrey our love. And send us pictures!"

Jay chuckled. "I will,"

* * *

The recap of the Tourney game was on in the hospital room.

Jay's team had won.

"I really am sorry,"

"Stop apologizing, you have nothing to apologize for."

"You should've been there." Audrey said for the ten thousandth time.

"And miss these two?" Jay nodded at the two babies sleeping in between them. The twins were perfectly healthy and Audrey was fine. They were loud when they cried and they kicked and squirmed. They were really cute, even Jay said so and he never thought any newborns were cute. "Never. You three are more important to me than some dumb trophy."

Audrey smiled. She was clearly exhausted. "Did anyone ever tell you that you're really cheesy?"

"I believe you have." Jay replied.

Audrey chuckled.

The baby closest to Jay squirmed.

"Which one is this?" Jay asked, letting the baby grab his finger.

Audrey chuckled. In his defense, they were identical. "Dominic. You can check their ID bracelets, you know."

"What happens when we get them home and they don't have those anymore? I don't want to mix up my own kids. Or call them both Declan-or-Dominic their whole lives."

"We have to find something visual to tell them apart and look for it, I imagine."

"Can we give one a tattoo?"

Audrey's sudden burst of laughter frightened both of the twins and Dominic started to cry.

"Oh no. I'm sorry sweetheart." Audrey said, reaching over to rub Dominic's head as Jay picked him up.

"Your laugh even scares babies, Aud. Your own babies."

"Shut up, Jay." she shook her head and picked Declan up.

Jay snickered. A good chunk of their relationship consisted of them teasing each other. It was all good-natured. Usually.

Their friends were on their way from the Tourney game to come meet the twins. Henry, they were told, was thrilled to have two more boys in the family. Talia was too little to have much of an opinion, but Henry's enthusiasm had transferred into Talia's clumsy toddler claps. Aurora and Philip had gone home to fill Leah and Stefan in on the day.

Jay looked over at Audrey, who was looking at the oldest of the twins with so much fondness. He was certain he had never been more in love with her then he was at that moment. She was beautiful and perfect and everything some dumpy villan kid should never have been able to even look at, yet here she was holding one of their new little sons like he was the most precious thing in the world.

He shifted Dominic in his arms. "Audrey?"

She looked over at him. "Hm?"

"Will you say no if I ask you again?"

"Will you be asking me for real or because you feel like you have to?"

He took a deep breath. "For real,"

Her smile was sincere and soft. "You can try me."

"Will you marry me?"

This was the third time he had asked her. The first time had been a week after they found out she was pregnant. She had turned him down because they both knew he was only asking her out of guilt. The second time, on her birthday, she had told him no for the same reason.

But this was different.

"Of course I'll marry you, Jay."

Jay leaned over and kissed her. She rested her head on his shoulder.

"I love you." he said quietly.

"I love you too."

Audrey would have never imagined she would have gotten engaged in a hospital bed holding her newborn baby and watching Tourney, but that's how it happened and she couldn't have been happier.

There was no sunset to ride off into, no clock striking at midnight, no curse to break, or carriage to ride, but it was her fairy tale. She had her two beautiful little boys and Jay and there was nothing else in the world she could have asked for. Everything was absolutely perfectly.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Yay! Declan and Dominic and their dorky parents. :)_**

 ** _Jane and Carlos are up next and throughout their chapters, I'll introduce Chad's girlfriend and Lonnie might get thrown in too. There will also be a little overlap with other kiddos joining the mix (I'm looking at you, Mal and Ben and Evie and Doug), but I guarantee 4 chapters of just Carlos and Jane!_**

 ** _Thank you for reading! As always, reviews are appreciated!_**


	13. Four Plus One Makes Five

_**Hello everyone! I'm back with the first chapter of Jane and Carlos' story! I hope you like it!**_

 ** _I also have some exciting personal news: We put my deposit down at me dream college yesterday. I'm going there beginning this fall! I'm so excited!_**

 ** _Anyway, enjoy!_**

* * *

Jane had always wanted children. She was one of those little girls that had a herd of baby dolls and kept a running list of names she might like to use one day.

Carlos, on the other hand, had never even really considered the fact that there would ever be a chance that he could have children until Henry was born. A secure and happy future wasn't typically something people thought about on the Isle. Even then, it really wasn't much of a thought until he and Jane got married.

They got married just a few months before Audrey found out she was pregnant and as soon as Fairy Godmother found out about Audrey, she had begun to ask Jane when she was going to have a baby.

It had sort of been hard to explain to her. Simply put, neither her nor Carlos were really into the whole process required to create a baby in the first place. Carlos didn't see what the big deal was because he simply didn't think about Jane, or anyone that way. Jane was a little more indifferent on the topic. She really couldn't care either way, but she didn't want Carlos to be unhappy.

Jane still wanted a kid or two, though, so they talked about it. It had taken a while, but Carlos did eventually some to terms with the fact that yes, he could be a dad. He loved being an uncle and loved playing with kids and the kids loved him right back. He could totally do it. He would totally love being a father.

Jane had never been more thrilled.

Still, they had a few options.

Carlos had said science was out because it couldn't always be trusted and, though he'd never tell Jane, he just didn't want her to get all excited and then get a broken heart if something went wrong. He couldn't bear to see her upset.

Evie and Doug were looking into adoption through the program Mal and Ben had helped set up to get orphans off the Isle. They could always go that route or adopt from somewhere in Auradon. Those kids needed homes and they were more than ready for one.

And then there was the option of actually having their own baby. That was the scary one. Both were a little uneasy about it. One of the most difficult things about discussing it was that both wanted the other to be happy, but eventually, they decided to try it once. Just once. And if there was no resulting baby, then they would look into adoption.

A few weeks after their 'just once', Jane had started feeling very unlike herself and they both tried not to get too excited. Henry and Talia had both recently been sick and Jane could've easily picked something up from their grubby, cute little hands or when she was disinfecting the kids' books at the library.

When days turned to weeks, it seemed to make the possibility more certain and Jane caved and went to the doctor, finally past the point of believing she had a virus.

Her phone rang the next day while she was drying off the puppy from a bath. The little black and white poof ball that would eventually become a full grown Border Collie, yipped in shock at the noise and ran, still a bit wet, from the room, probably to join Dude at his place by the open door to finish drying off.

"Sorry, Riley." Jane called after to the dog before she grabbed her phone. She had never been so nervous to answer a phone in her life, but she did.

The voice on the other end of the line apologized for the rather late call but then said the single most amazing and nerve-wracking sentence she had heard in her life. She hung up, teary-eyed and shaking. She was too stunned to move, so she simply sat where she was on the floor.

"A damp puppy jumped into my lap and scared the heck out of me." Carlos said as he approached the bathroom, cheerfully as usual. "She slip away from you again?"

The tiny clicks of puppy nails on tile sounded as Riley tried to navigate the floor.

Carlos frowned. Jane was staring at her phone, looking shocked... and... teary? "Jane? What's wrong?"

She snapped her head up and wiped at her eyes. "Nothing. Nothing's wrong. Everything-everything is perfect." She said honestly.

Poor Carlos was very confused.

Jane shook her head a little and stood up. "Sorry. The doctor called. That's why Riley ran. She got scared by my phone ringing."

"What'd they say?"

All Jane could do was smile.

It took a moment for Carlos to understand what that meant, but one he realized, he couldn't contain his emotions.

"Oh my- Jane I... this is incredible!" he immediately pulled her into a hug, which she happily returned. "I can't believe it!"

"Me either." Jane replied. It felt surreal in a sense. Too good to be true. To amazing to even happen. She sniffled. "I'm so happy."

"Me too," Carlos replied, hugging her tighter.

"We're going to have to empty that room out." Jane said after a few minutes. They had put it off for so long.

Carlos groaned. The spare bedroom still had boxes they'd never unpacked and miscellaneous stuff he didn't want to go through, but the baby needed a room, so he supposed they should do it. "Okay,"

Jane laughed a little.

They had told no one they were even trying to have a baby, not even Jane's mother. Everyone was going to be so shocked, but hopefully just as excited as they were.

Dude sauntered into the room, looking for his two favorite people, no doubt.

"Hey buddy," Carlos said, picking the dog up. "What do you say to another little brother or sister to go along with Riley, huh? But a human one this time."

Dude licked his face.

"I take that as a yes." Carlos laughed.

Jane scratched Dude's head and the dog licked her hand. The puppy at her feet yipped and she picked her up, damp fur and wet dog smell and all.

Two dogs, Carlos, and a baby.

She couldn't imagine anything better than that.

* * *

 _ **A/N: These two are so cute, I honestly can't even. I hope you are excited for the rest of their story and to meet their little one as I am! :)**_

 ** _Thanks for reading! Please leave me your thoughts! I very much appreciate all your kind words and enthusiasm._**


	14. Two New Family Members

_**It's very short and I'm sorry, but it does exist!**_

 ** _Enjoy!_**

* * *

"I'm pregnant."

Evie and Audrey practically shrieked in response. Mal laughed at the both of them being ridiculous before moving to hug both Jane and Carlos while the other girls tried to regain control of themselves.

"Congratulations," Mal told them both. Ben was right behind her.

No one had even really considered the fact that Jane and Carlos would ever have a baby, but the fact that they were was very exciting.

After more hugs from Evie, Doug, Jay, and Audrey, there were the typical onslaught of questions.

"When did you find out?" Audrey asked.

"A few weeks ago." Jane replied, softly as per usual, grabbing at the fabric on her dress. She didn't like being the center of attention. "It was hard not to tell you guys sooner."

"Does your family know yet?" Evie questioned. Jane's family was her mother, Cinderella and her prince, and Chad.

"We told them last night actually," Carlos replied, smiling at Jane. "At dinner."

"Chad brought his new girlfriend. We didn't know she was coming and I think everyone's excitement scared her a little." Jane added, smiling a bit. Chad's new girlfriend's name was Amelia. She was a pretty blonde who wore glasses and had a bit of a stutter. She was very friendly and sweet.

Everyone laughed at that.

"What did your mom do, Jane?" Ben asked.

"She cried," Jane responded. Boy did she ever. Fairy Godmother was a very sensitive woman.

"Aww," Evie said.

Jane's smile was shy but sincere. She was very excited. Vey scared too, of course, but mostly excited.

Carlos hugged her close and kissed the side of her head ever so gently.

"You two are going to be great parents." Jay told Jane and Carlos.

Everyone nodded in agreement. They would be wonderful parents, very calm and understanding and very welcome to hugs and cuddles.

"You've helped the three of us with our baby showers, Jane. Now we get to throw you one!" Audrey exclaimed excitedly.

"Nothing big. I don't like big."

"Of course," Evie promised, smiling. It looked a little sad for some reason. "We'll do whatever you like."

Speaking of babies, Henry was asleep, Talia was with her grandparents for the weekend, and the twins were with theirs.

"What's the matter, Evie?" Jane asked her friend.

"Hm? Oh, nothing." Evie replied.

Carlos had noticed Evie was off and that Doug was as well. "You two were in awfully good mood earlier and now you both just kind of look... sad."

"It's nothing," Doug assured. Evie nodded.

"It's not nothing. Tell us." Mal all but demanded.

Evie and Doug exchanged a glance and then Evie sighed. "Well, we had some good news too-"

"Tell us!" Audrey prompted.

"No, no. This is... Jane and Carlos and..." Oh she felt silly. She didn't want to hurt Jane and Carlos by stealing their moment.

"Please tell us, Evie. Your good news won't ruin ours." Jane told her quietly.

"But you guys are so excited. We don't want to take your moment." Evie replied.

"We can share it." Jane replied.

"Yeah, tell us."

Evie brightened. "Doug, you can tell then."

He nodded and smiled. "We, uh... the adoption went through."

"Talia's getting a little brother!" Evie added excitedly. "He is just a few months old."

A new round of cheers went up full of congratulations and hugs.

"What's his name?" Ben asked.

"His name is Felix." Evie replied. "And we're not going to change it."

"That's such a cute name." Audrey said, hugging her friend tight. "Talia and Felix."

"When do you guys get to, you know, get him?" Jay asked.

"As soon as early next month." Doug replied.

Jane hugged Evie too. "Congratulations,"

"I'm really sorry, Jane."

"Why are you sorry? You're getting a baby and so are we. I think that means we should be twice as happy. Please don't feel bad. I'm excited for you."

Evie hugged the younger girl even tighter. "I'm excited for you too. You're going to be such a good mom."

Jane smiled.

Evie smiled back before Mal pulled her into a hug.

Carlos pulled Jane to him. "I can't wait for our baby to meet them." he told her, looking at all of his friends who were more like family. There was so much love in that room. He couldn't wait to raise their child with the kids of their closest friends.

She smiled at him. "We're going to have one very lucky baby, aren't we?"

He kissed her cheek. "Absolutely,"

* * *

 _ **A/N: Hooray for baby Felix and Jane and Carlos' baby too! I hope you're as excited for the both of them as I am!**_

 ** _Please review if you can and thanks for reading!_**

 ** _See you soon!_**


	15. Getting Ready for a Little Boy

_**Goodness gracious, it's certainly been a while since I updated this story! My sincerest apologies. I hope to start to write more often now that summer is in full swing. My first year of college was fantastic but the thing about college is, if you have a lot of free time, you're forgetting about something. I've had most of this chapter done since this past December but I guess it just slipped my mind. Whoops!**_

 _ **Please enjoy!**_

* * *

Two was old enough to do quite a few things. It was old enough to walk, to talk, to laugh, to dance, to run, to have friends, and to help put away toys. It was old enough to recognize Mommy and Daddy and extended family members. But two years old was not quite old enough to understand where babies come from in all specifics and details.

Talia Annabelle Dwarfson was quite the intelligent two year old. Babies come from mommies' tummies. When a mommy and a daddy really love each other, they get to pick when a baby comes. She knew that stuff.

Talia's mother knew how problematic that basic "child-friendly" explanation was for a while but she could simply not think of anything better to soothe her daughter's curiosity. Looking into her daughter's inquisitive face, Evie wished she had come up with something better.

"Baby fwom Mommy?" Talia asked, her tiny hands resting on her mother's knees.

"Yes, but not from me." Evie explained gently, running her hand through her daughter's small tuft of growing curls. In some part of her mind, Evie wished Talia didn't have such a fantastic memory. "Our new baby's mommy couldn't take care of him any more, so she asked some very kind people to help her find her baby a new family that will love him very much. And we're that family."

"Famwy." Talia parroted.

"Yes," Evie said, feeling that maybe she had made a breakthrough with her toddler. "Baby Felix will be part of our family as soon as Daddy and I go to get him tomorrow. When we come back, you'll be a big sister. Isn't that exciting?"

"Big sister!" Talia cheered. She knew what that meant. Doug and Evie had been talking to her about being a big sister a lot lately.

Evie pulled Talia in her lap and cuddled her close. "You're going to have a little brother, Talia. You get to help us teach him and love him and play with him."

"Baby bwodder Felix!"

"Yes, Talia! That's right!" Evie smiled brightly. "Your new baby brother is named Felix! Smart girl."

Talia smiled proudly. Her little bits of hair were held out of her eyes with little blue hair clips that matched her dress. Her ears were pierced. Evie ticked her, making Talia giggle. As the little girl squirmed to be put down and toddled off towards toys, Evie wondered just how different raising a baby boy would be compared to her daughter. She knew Henry and Declan and Dominic well enough, but they didn't live with her. She imagined it couldn't be that different.

She and Doug encouraged Talia to play with baby dolls and trucks and play tea party and get dirty, all of which she did. Talia did prefer baby dolls and tea parties over trucks and making a mess, but she still played in the dirt and her parents were going to continue allowing her to do just that. Felix would be treated just the same and if he happened to gravitate more towards dollies and dressup clothes, then that was more than okay by them. They felt that this was the right way and the best way to raise him in this regard.

Certainly an adopted child would present more challenges than a natural child. Even though Felix was only a year old, he could come to them frightened, fixated on food because he hadn't gotten enough, anxious, and not wanting to sleep. Bonding time with Felix would be absolutely necessary, and luckily it was summer vacation. Evie and Doug could spend time with Felix (and Talia of course) without fear of having to go to work as they were both teachers. Felix could attach himself more to one of them and refuse the other for weeks. He could be terrified of both of them or of Talia. Hopefully, things would go over well, but as they were unsure exactly what his first few months of like were like, they couldn't be sure.

Felix was an orphan from the Isle of the Lost. Mal and Ben had started a program to get the orphaned children into loving families in Auradon and it was still new. Their love for Henry had been one of the many catalysts to get them to start a program, along with Mal wanting to save kids from what she, Evie, Jay, and Carlos went through. As soon as Evie heard about the program, she knew she wanted to adopt one of those children. She and Doug had already been looking into adoption, but the introduction of the organization made them more excited to go through with it. It wasn't hard for Doug to agree to adopting a child from the Isle.

Through the program, the adoption process was streamlined to get kids with people who wanted them as quickly as possible. Felix was one of the first ten children to find a family through the organization and hopefully there would be many more children to follow him. Many families were interested in the program now, especially since Evie was partaking. The "Original Four" as they were called had all become celebrities in some regard since they came to Auradon back in high school. Mal was Queen now of course and Jay was a star Tourney player, but even software engineer Carlos and grade school teacher Evie were loved.

One of the empty bedrooms in the house (Evie and Doug haad known for a while that they wanted kind of a lot of kids and therefore got a house to accomidate their future family) had been quickly made over into a nursery for Felix with light gray walls and jungle animal print and Talia's baby toys had been pulled out from the boxes in which they were being kept. The playpen was dragged out of the attic and set up. The few weeks of excitement they had of being a diaper-free household after Talia was potty trained disappeared when diapers were bought for Felix. Their house was more than ready for Felix and they simply couldn't wait to bring him home the next day.

They were still unsure where Felix fell on his milestones. He was just over a year old and that added a level of uncertainty. He could still be crawling, or he could be running. He could still be babbiling or he could be saying words. The program was so new that some of the smaller details about the children had been left out of communication. Health records were not. They knew he had no physical special needs, they knew he was average height and weight, and they knew he wasn't a fussy eater, but the littler things were still important. Evie and Doug mentioned this to Ben and Mal and they promised to start pushing for those sorts of things to be added as the program cooridnates were preparing to start interviewing families for the next round of children. Doug and Evie were prepared for anything.

Talia was going to spend the night at Jane and Carlos' house to make it easier for her parents to head out early. Usually, she'd stay with Doug's family, but Daisy had come down with a stomach bug and no one wanted to risk Talia catching it too. Ben and Mal typically were in the line up for keeping T overnight, but they were going to be busy the next day too, being interviewed by news stations about the program and overseeing things. Though they were in charge of the program, they weren't involved in matching families. Others were hired to do that sort of thing. They ran the whole program from the outside. Not only would they be busy, but Evie had noticed her best friend was appearing a little more tired than usual and Ben was stressed. She wasn't sure what was wrong, but saddiling them with another toddler on top of their own just sounded cruel. And besides, Jane and Carlos were expecting their own little one and any practice was good practice. Plus Talia simply adored the dogs.

Later that evening, after dropping Talia off with Jane and Carlos (they wanted to take her to get ice cream, so she was dropped off a little earlier), Evie found Doug in Felix's nursery, hanging up a beautiful sketch of the ocean one of his students had made for Felix before school had let out. Just as they had been given a bunch of artwork for Talia's room, their students had drawn things for Felix.

"Your kids are always so sweet." Evie said, coming to stand at his side.

"They are. Yours too. And can you believe at Auradon Prep some kids would talk poorly about the kids who went to the public schools? How awful they supposedly all were?"

Evie shook her head. Ben himself had gone through they Auradon City Public School system until he started high school. Sure, it had sort of been a way for his parents to show everyone that the schools were great (which they were), but he turned out alright. Evie taught at the elementary school he used to attend and he and Mal planned to send Henry there as well. "Teenagers are something else."

"That's a way to say it." Doug chuckled.

Evie smiled and wrapped her arms around him from the side. "Can you believe we're going to have a little boy tomorrow?"

"Not really. Then again, it might only be because there hasn't been any hormonal outbursts this time around." Evie really hadn't been that bad with hormones while she was pregnant with Talia, but she swatted him gently anyway.

"I'm so happy."

"About Felix?" Doug asked, turning a bit to hold her properly.

"Well, of course. But about everything. Felix, Talia, you, this house, our friends, our life... If you would've told fifteen year old me all of this, I would have probably slapped you silly. This wasn't what I was supposed to want. But I have it all, and I couldn't be more grateful and happy about everything."

Doug kissed her forehead. "I love you, Evie."

She smiled. "I love you too. So much."

They stood there for quite some time just holding each other in the room that belonged to their son, as the sunset fell through the gary-curtained windows and gave the room a cozy feeling. The only word Evie could use to explain how it felt was bliss.

* * *

 _ **A/N: I adore Devie! And Talia is just too cute! Do you think she'll be a good big sister?**_

 _ **I think I'll be writing another chapter for Jane and Carlos before you meet Felix, but he's on his way!**_

 _ **As always, thank you so much for reading! Let me know what you think in the reviews! I just love to read them!**_


	16. Sweet Family Moments

_**Have another chapter about Jane and Carlos! Enjoy!**_

* * *

Jane was sitting on the floor surrounded by craft supplies. She was cutting out pastel purple and blue shapes from scrapbook paper. She was just as artistic as Mal and Evie, but she was artistic in the crafting and DIY sense, menaing she did things like make scrapbooks, create birthday cards, paint things for gifts, and make dog beds out of sweaters. Evie had enlisted her 'expertise', as the blue-haired woman insisted on calling it, for several projects for her classroom. Crafting was Jane's happy place. When she was younger, it felt to her like one of the few things she could do right and while she knew that wasn't true now, she still loved to handmake things.

"Those colors look great together, Jane. And it will look good on the gray walls. You made a really good choice." Carlos said, coming to stand next to her. He had just gotten out of the shower and his hair was still wet, so he stood back a little to ensure no stray drips of water would land on his wife's work.

"Thanks," she said, smiling up at him quickly before resuming her cutting. "It's more... gentle I guess than the typical colors put in little girls' rooms. I like it much better."

Carlos grinned, knowing exactly what Jane was talking about. "As cute as Talia's room is, pink, magenta, and blue are a little too bright for me too."

"And if happens to like those kinds of colors when she gets a little older, we can always repaint." Jane said, snipping off a tiny piece of paper, finishing her last cut.

"True," Carlos replied. "Does it feel weird for you to call the baby a girl? Because it does for me."

"Mm, a little. Sometimes. Even weirder is calling her Penelope." Jane and Carlos' baby girl was due in less than two months, but they had just recently decided to find out if they were having a boy or a girl. Ben and Mal had been the only couple to actually not find out what they were having. Carlos and Jane and tried so hard to wait, but the suspense was killing them so they caved. Jane had almost immediatley picked a color scheme and began to make things. Not soon after, they had settled on a name for their baby. Penelope Siria.

They were expecting a little girl. Carlos still couldn't believe it. He was so thrilled.

"Still more boys in the family, though." Jane added. Everyone referred to Ben and Mal, Audrey and Jay, Carlos and Jane, Evie and Doug, Lonnie and sometimes Chad and Amelia as family.

"Oh yeah! Talia and Penelope will be the only girls."

Jane shrugged. "For the minute."

"You think someone else is going to have a baby?"

"You know Doug and Evie want more kids."

"Yeah, but they didn't even get Felix yet."

"After though."

"Well yeah. Probably."

"And Ben wants more kids too. I don't know if Mal's all the way budged on that yet, but if she does I'm sure they'll have another too. Jay and Audrey are done, I know, but Chad and Amelia are talking about marriage."

"I see your point." Carlos nodded. "Do you need any help?"

"That would be wonderful."

Carlos sat across from Jane on the floor. "What do want me to do, Boss?"

Jane giggled a little and she shoved a stack of the flowers she had been cutting out. And previously cut out circles in the same colors. "If you could use a glue stick and put the purple centers on the blue flowers and the blue centers on the purple flowers, that would be such a big help."

"Sure." Carlos grabbed hold of the glue stick and started on the project.

Jane tugged the piece of white yarn she had cut to size earlier towards her and knotted one side about three inches from the end and then took the other glue stick to help Carlos.

Once all the flowers were glued and dry, the punch a whole in each flower through the center of a petal and laced the yarn through them all, alternating colors. When they were done with that, they took it to the room that would belong to their baby girl in just a few weeks and hung it on the wall above the white crib and then spread the flowers evenly apart.

"I love it." Carlos announced. "You are incredible, Jane."

Jane smiled shyly. "It turned out better than I hoped."

"It's beautiful." Carlos promised. "I bet Penelope will love it. No, I _know_ she'll love it."

"Thank you,"

Carlos kissed her cheek. "I can't wait for her to be here."

"Me either,"

"This still seems surreal."

"I know what you mean. I didn't think it'd happen this way. I thought we'd be going through the Isle agency." Jane told Carlos. "Which would have been fine of course. But I wasn't expecting this."

"And now it's so close."

"Mhm,"

"Six weeks until we're parents."

"Longest six weeks of my life." Jane joked, smiling.

Carlos tugged her close and hugged her. "Have I told you that I love you today?"

Jane smiled. "A few times, I think."

"That's not enough times." Carlos loved saying that he loved people. It was a phrase he could never get tired of saying out loud. When he first came to Auradon and realized he could tell people he loved them, he told just about everyone he figured out he loved in a platonic sense. Jay, Mal, Evie, Ben...in a sense he had been the one to break the ice and make their little group of friends a family. And now he had someone he loved more than anything. "I love you,"

"I love you too."

Their moment was ruined by an excited puppy running into the room and circling them.

"It's time for your walk, isn't it?" Carlos said, letting go of Jane and crouching down to pet their excited pup. Riley licked Carlos' face enthusiastically. He chuckled.

"Carlos, look at Dude." Jane said, giggling, pointing to the doorway of the nursery.

Carlos looked to the door to see Dude dragging both leashes into the room with much determination. He started to laugh too.

"I guess we're late," Jane laughed, walking over to Dude and bending down (with some difficulty) to pet him and grab the leashes from his mouth. "Silly dogs." She scratched Dude behind the ears. "Sorry we're late for your walk, buddy." Dude barked once and Riley bounded over towards the older dog. She sat next to him, waiting patiently.

"Okay, okay." Carlos chuckled, standing up. "Let us get our shoes on and we'll go, okay? Meet us by the front door. Go on."

The pups left the room and Jane followed after them, flipping the light switch off on her way out. Carlos was right behind her.

"I wonder if Penny will be this insistent on regularly schedued walks." Carlos joked putting his shoes on.

"In this family?" Jane began, fixing her shoe. "Maybe,"

Carlos put on both of the dogs' leashes and Jane took Riley's. Dude didn't really need to be leashed, but several of their neighbors were uncomfortable with the idea of an unleashed dog around, no matter how good he was and they didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

The four of them left the house, Carlos and Jane hand in hand. It was a beautiful evening and they couldn't wait to share times like it with baby Penelope when she arrived.

* * *

 _ **A/N: What do you guys think about the name Penelope? I think it's sweet. Siria is for Sirius, the dog star, which I thought was cute for them too. The next chapter probably won't be what you're expecting. Leave your thoughts on this chapter and best guesses in a review!**_

 _ **Who's ready for Descendants 2? I know I am! I hope to have the next chapter up next Friday! See you then!**_


	17. Worries and Rainbows

_**Hi everyone! I bet you guys weren't expecting this one!**_

 _ **Just so you know, the fact that the sequel is out will ot change this story. There may be a new story with kiddos that goes along better with both movies, but this one will remain as is.**_

 _ **Enjoy!**_

 _ ***Warning: mentions of blood tests, needles and pokes***_

* * *

Ben was reading on the bed, absolutely engrossed in whatever book it happened to be, when Mal came into the room with a heavy sigh.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?" he asked, glancing up from the novel's pages.

"I'm late," she said, all but collapsing on her side of the bed.

"It's eleven o'clock at night. I think the only thing you could be late for at this hour would be a slumber party." Ben replied, confused as to what she meant. He slipped a bookmark into his book and closed the cover, setting it on his nightstand, beside the glasses he should probably wear more often than he did.

Mal rolled her eyes. "No Ben, I'm late. Almost two weeks late. I haven't been late in years."

"Oh," Ben said, finally getting a handle of what she was saying. Mal and Evie tended to call it Shark Week, because they found it hilarious. They got Lonnie, Jane, and Audrey to call it that too. "Well, you have been very stressed the last few weeks. That'll do it."

Getting the Isle adoption program set up had been a lot from the very beginning, but the last few weeks had been anything but easy. It had only been a few days since the first group of children had gone home with their new families, just about 72 hours since Evie and Doug officially had two children. Things hadn't slowed down quite yet, as there were many things that needed to be fixed for next time. Ben predicted things wouldn't really slow down until the fourth or fifth lot of kids came over, which was a few months away.

"That's what I thought too at first," Mal said. "But then I… I did some math." She slid her phone across the sheets towards him. It was open to the app she used to keep track of all things Shark Wise related.

Ben peered down at her phone screen and frowned a tiny bit before looking back to her. "Oh… do you know for sure?"

She shook her head and took her phone back. "No, I'm just guessing. But it lines up… and it would make sense. I think I'd like to have another baby, but I… just don't feel like this is the right time. There's so much going on right now-!"

Ben put his hand on her back cutting off the nervous rambling he felt coming. She looked at him. "Mal, deep breath. Calm down. Let's be sure and find out before we start worrying, okay?"

She took a deep breath.

"There we go," he said gently.

She looked down again. "I'm sorry, it's just… Jay and Audrey have twins- twins!- and Evie and Doug have two now. They can handle two kids, I should be able to handle two kids too, but I really don't think I could."

Ben gently tips her face up with a finger under her chin. "Hey, hey. We aren't Jay and Audrey or Doug and Evie. And you shouldn't base what you think you should be capable of off others. That's not fair to you. And we still don't know for sure."

"It's probably too early on to find out for sure." She replied, feeling anxious. To be unsure for weeks would be worse than just knowing in her opinion.

"Blood tests at the doctor's work earlier on than the at-home ones. They're more accurate too."

"But that means needles." Mal made a face. She hated needles. She was rather scared of needles. She had enough in her when she was in labor with Henry to last her a lifetime. She tried to avoid them at all costs, even going with the nasal injected flu shots no matter how much she hated those too.

"Yeah, it does." Ben frowned, rubbing up and down on her back. He knew how much she hated getting poked at. It took them forever to find her vein for an IV when she was having Henry and that certainly didn't help with her disdain of needles.

Mal bit her lip. She supposed finding out as soon as possible would be better than waiting for weeks. "Would you… come with me if I did that?" she asked, feeling rather shy.

"Of course I will," Ben assured quietly, gently, leaning closer to kiss her cheek.

She turned a bit and wrapped her arms around him and he returned the action. He could feel fear seeping from her and that only made him hold her closer. She nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck.

Ben had always wanted a sea of children. Or at least, more than one. He was an only child, just as Henry was now, and he had been jealous of those who had older or younger siblings when he was growing up. He also loved kids. Having more than one of them would be a dream come true for him. But the last thing he wanted was for Mal to be upset or unhappy.

After a while, the lights were off and they were laying in the dark still holding each other. Each thought the other was asleep, but both of their minds were buzzing with thoughts.

* * *

Not too many days later, Mal and Ben were on their way to the appointment for the blood test. It was obscenely early, before the doctor's office officially opened. Usually, ben and Mal avoided special treatment at all costs, but the nature of the appointment and their titles had prompted the office to suggest they come in before operating hours to keep Auradon City's gossipy residents out of their personal life.

Mal had been very quiet the last few days and Henry had noticed. He had asked Ben the night before if Mommy was sad, Ben had told him she was worried about big people things and not to worry too much. Henry had said he would give her extra hugs and he had.

One of the nurses was waiting just inside of the doors of the building to open it for them. "Good morning," she greeted kindly. Some people were always a little star struck around the two of them, but not the people at that doctor's office. Mal had joked for years that it was probably hard to be star struck by someone when you've seen more of them than they have. Ben had almost choked on his drink the first time she said that from laughing so hard.

"Good morning," Ben replied. Mal smiled but didn't say a word. Ben squeezed her hand a little tighter. He had never seen her look so tired and pensive.

The nurse led them up the stairs to the office with pleasant small talk. Ben did most of the talking until she asked if Henry was four or five now, Mal replied that he was four, but he would be five in a few months.

When they got to the office, the nurse took them directly into a room. Mal was weighed and other regular vitals were checked and the nurse asked the standard bout of questions before double checking that they were, in fact, there for a blood test. When Mal responded that yes, she was, the nurse said she'd be right back with the things she'd need for that. Just as the door closed, Ben saw a tear streak down Mal's face and he immediately moved to sit next to her on the bed.

"Don't cry," he said gently, wiping her tear away before she could. "It's okay. It's going to be okay." He wasn't sure if the tear was because of the impending needle in her arm or because she was so worried about possibly having another baby or both, but he certainly didn't want her feeling like she was alone in it.

She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned against him, desperately trying not to cry. He wrapped his arm around her and rubbed her arm up and down trying to comfort her. He pressed a kiss to her forehead.

A moment later, the nurse returned and Mal sat up. She whimpered a bit when she caught sight of the vials for blood. Ben squeezed her arm reassuringly. The nurse was very gentle with Mal as she knew Mal was both uneasy with needles and having a bit of a rough time with the potential outcome of the test. The nurse tied the blue band around Mal's upper arm tightly and that's when Mal returned her face to Ben's shoulder. He held her close. The nurse continued, wiping Mal's arm with the alcohol wipe to clean the area.

"I'm going to use a butterfly needle," the nurse explained, putting the needle on a vial. "It's very tiny, so there shouldn't be much of a poke at all, but because it's so small, it will take a little longer, okay?"

Mal nodded.

"Would you like me to tell you or just… go for it?"

"Tell me,"

"Okay," The nurse counted back from three and Mal's free hand tightened on Ben's shirt in an effort not to make any noise at the poke, however slight it was. Ben held her tighter.

After what seemed like an eternity to Mal, she felt the cotton ball and tape get stuck to her arm.

"It's over," Ben told Mal quietly. She looked up.

"You did fine," the nurse replied with a smile. "No more pokes, I promise."

Mal smiled a bit.

"I'll take these down to where they need to go. Doctor Richards should be here in about fifteen minutes with the results."

"Thank you," Mal replied.

The nurse took the supplies and left Ben and Mal alone.

"You did great," Ben said, kissing Mal's forehead. "You took it like a champ."

Mal smiled at him. After a few beats of silence, she spoke. "I think we're both hoping for different results."

"I want whatever will make you happiest." Ben responded. And he was being completely honest.

"You want a lot of kids, Ben."

"Mm, I might have but nowhere did I ever say I wasn't already happy with the family I have. You and Henry mean everything to me."

"I was so scared when I found out about Henry, but I love him with all my heart. I'm being ridiculous about this."

"You aren't being ridiculous. You're allowed to be afraid, Mal. You're allowed to feel anything you ever feel."

They fell into a long silence again.

"I love you so much." Ben murmured. "Always,"

"I love you too," Mal replied.

When the doctor came in, it was with a bright smile, but the mood in the room changed the expression on her face quickly. Doctor Richards was a kind older woman. She had been there when Henry was born and had also helped to deliver Talia. Mal and Evie both knew her well.

"Hello, Mal. Lovely to see you."

"Hello," Mal greeted.

"It's been a while since I've seen you, Ben. How are you, dear?"

"Fine, thank you. And you?"

"Just fine," Dr. Richards smiled. "How's Henry?"

"He's great." Ben answered.

"Wonderful," The doctor smiled again. "Now, I believe you're anxious to hear the results of the test, yes?"

Mal nodded. Ben squeezed Mal's hand tightly.

"Mal, you are pregnant."

Mal closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Ben was unsure of what to do. Yes, he did want more kids, so part of him was excited. But part of him was more concerned with Mal's happiness than his own. All he can do is hold her hand.

Mal is certain she's never felt quite so scared. Her breathing is shaky as Doctor Richards reminds her what she can and can't do, things she should do, and things to try and avoid, all the things that were mandatory for her to say, but she said it in a tone that both ben and Mal had never heard from her before. An appointment was set up for a little over a month away. Ben thanks the doctor and they leave, hand in hand. Neither of them speak until they get to the car.

And then Mal dissolves into tears. And Ben panics. She hasn't cried like that in ages. Her face is in her hands and she leans away from his touch, shrinking against the door. Seeing her like this makes tear's prick at Ben's eyes.

"I can't do this," she finally manages to say. "I can't have two kids. I'm-I'm not a good enough mother to handle two kids, Ben. I'm not a good mother."

"Hey, hey," he soothes. "You are a wonderful mother to Henry, Mal. Absolutely wonderful. Please don't say that again. It's not true, sweetheart." He's relieved to notice she's stopped crying so hard, but heartbroken that she thinks she's not a good mom.

"I don't think I can handle two kids, especially now. It's… it's not a good time."

"It's okay. If you don't think you can, that's okay. There are options."

"I couldn't."

"Couldn't what?"

"Do either. I'd just feel guilty. On the Isle, there was no putting your kid up for adoption. You gave it to the orphanage or kept it, and depending on your parents, either could be worse. Even though I know everything would probably go fine here, I don't think I'd be able to stop thinking like that."

"There's always-"

She wipes at her face "Don't even say it. Please. A girl I went to school on the Isle with tried to do it herself and she didn't make it. Even with doctors and whatever here, the idea scares me."

Ben didn't know how to respond.

She sniffles. "I'm sorry, Ben. I should be happy. This is what you want. I know it is. I should be happy. We're having another baby."

"You don't have to be happy if you don't feel like being happy, Mal. You are entitled to your emotions."

She sighs.

"And I am with you. No matter if you decide to go through with this or not, I am always here for you. And I will always love you. No matter what." He hoped he sounded as sincere as he felt.

She looks at him then, her eyes red and puffy, tear streaks down her face. "I love you, Ben. So much."

"I love you too." He reached for her hand and squeezed.

That day, Mal had holed herself up with some paperwork to keep her mind busy and she worked until it was time for bed, only stopping to eat when Ben insisted. Henry had come in to kiss her good night and give her a big hug and that's when she figured she should probably stop. She was in bed and asleep before Ben even made it to the room.

That night, she dreamt she was standing in the empty room cross the hall, holding a baby. At first, she thought the baby was Henry, but the baby's eyes fluttered open. Henry took after his daddy in looks and had honey brown eyes, this baby's eyes were green. She smiled in the dream and when she looked up, the room that had been empty was now decorated in a rainbow of colors with plain white walls. It was bright and colorful and in her dream, she felt indescribably happy.

"Mommy! Look what I made for the baby!" Dream Henry announced, running into the room, holding up a colorful abstract painting.

"It's beautiful," she replied in her dream.

The baby in her dream started to fuss and she woke up then, only to find herself tucked in Ben's arms, like usual. The warm, happy feeling from her dream lingered and she smiled. Sometimes her dreams were capable of predicting the future in a sense, like when she dreamt about Ben before coming to Auradon, but she wasn't quite sure why. She had a feeling this was one of those dreams. Maybe she could handle two kids after all.

Ben woke up not long after she did. He kissed her cheek, still half asleep. "Good morning,"

She smiled at him. The first real Mal smile he had seen in several days. He missed that smile. "Ben?"

"Hm?" he stretched.

"I want the empty room across the hall to be the baby's nursery. And I know exactly what I want it to look like."

He smiled brightly. He wondered what had changed her mind, but he could ask that later.

She leaned over to kiss him. "We're having another baby, Ben."

He laughed a little and kissed her back. "I guess we are."

* * *

 _ **A/N: Henry is going to be a big brother! What do you all think? I'd love to read your thoughts and comments so please review!**_

 _ **You'll meet Felix next time!**_

 _ **Thanks so much for reading!**_


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